Forest bathing / Shinrin-yoku

A Japanese practice of slow sensory immersion in a forest, officially codified in 1982 by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry under the name shinrin-yoku, which translates as forest bathing. The protocol is a slow two to four hour walk that engages all five senses, with no fitness goal. Documented benefits include lower salivary cortisol, higher NK immune cells and reduced blood pressure (Li et al., 2009). Notable hotels: Six Senses Kyoto, Twin Farms in Vermont, and the Forest Therapy Society of Japan network. A guided session costs EUR 80 to 250 and is usually led by a certified forest therapy guide trained on the Japanese model.