English Haiku Workshop in Matsuyama: Compose & Share Poetry

Write haiku in the garden where Masaoka Shiki once stood.

An English-language haiku workshop in Matsuyama combines a museum visit, a guided walk through a 400-year-old ryokan garden, and a hands-on poetry session where you compose, share, and receive instructor feedback. Led by an English-speaking haiku instructor, the afternoon spans the Shiki Memorial Museum and Funaya Ryokan, the historic inn beloved by three generations of haiku masters. Participants must be at least 13 years old and comfortable reading, writing and speaking English.

The experience

Matsuyama earned its name as the haiku capital because Masaoka Shiki, who redefined haiku as modern literature and gave it its name, was born here. The city remains woven into contemporary haiku culture, and this workshop puts you inside that tradition. You start at the Shiki Memorial Museum at noon, where the English haiku instructor delivers a lecture on English haiku and the spirit of Matsuyama, grounding the form in the landscape and history you are about to walk through.

At two o'clock, you move to the garden of Funaya Ryokan, a distinguished inn founded in 1627 that hosted Shiki, Kyoshi Takahama, and Santōka Taneda: three pillars of modern haiku. The gin-kō, or haiku walk, is led by your instructor through the same garden these poets knew. You then return to the museum conference room for the kukai, the composition and feedback session: you write English-language haiku, read them aloud, and receive the instructor's commentary. The whole program runs from noon to 4:40 p.m., and opportunities to compose and share haiku in English under expert guidance are rare anywhere in the world.

The workshop includes admission to the Shiki Museum, the lecture, all materials for composition, and the instructor's live guidance in English throughout. Public transportation runs nearby if you need it. The experience is designed to engage all five senses (the garden, the historic rooms, the act of writing, the sound of poems read aloud), and to give you a genuine, unhurried encounter with haiku as it lives in Matsuyama today.

What’s included

• Admission to the Shiki Memorial Museum.
• English-language haiku lecture and workshop instruction.
• guided haiku walk through the Funaya Ryokan garden.
• all composition materials and writing supplies.
• live English-speaking guide throughout the afternoon.

Before you book

Days and timesThursdayDeparts at 12:00

Book up to2d before

AgesAdult (13 to 80 years) · Under 13: can't be booked

GroupUp to 10

Live guideEnglish

Meeting point and pickupNo hotel pickup: you go to the meeting point. Ends back at the starting point.

Cancellation and refundsFree cancellation up to 24 h before the start. After that, no refund.It may be canceled due to bad weather or if the minimum number of travelers isn't reached. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund.

Prices and times updated yesterday

Good to know

Moderate physical effortPublic transport nearbyNot recommended during pregnancyNot recommended with heart problemsNot recommended with back problems

Operated by ＪＴＢ松山支店

Is this one for you?The workshop is conducted entirely in English by a local instructor, so you need to be comfortable reading, writing, and speaking the language to follow the lecture, compose your haiku, and engage with the feedback. If you read and write English fluently, you can participate fully in a rare opportunity to study haiku in its birthplace under expert guidance.

Top questions

What happens if it rains?

It may be canceled due to bad weather. If that happens, you're offered another date or a refund. Free cancellation up to 24 h before the start.

What is the Shiki Memorial Museum, and why does the workshop start there?

The Shiki Memorial Museum honors Masaoka Shiki, the poet who redefined haiku as modern literature and gave the form its name. The workshop opens with a lecture there on English haiku and the spirit of Matsuyama, so you understand the tradition before you walk the garden and compose your own poems.

What happens during the haiku walk at Funaya Ryokan?

Funaya Ryokan is a historic inn founded in 1627 where Masaoka Shiki, Kyoshi Takahama, and Santōka Taneda all stayed. You walk its garden with the instructor, drawing inspiration from the same seasonal landscapes and settings these poets experienced, before returning to compose your own haiku.

Do I need to have written haiku before to join this workshop?

No prior experience with haiku is required. The instructor guides you through composition and offers feedback on your work during the kukai session, so the workshop is designed for beginners as well as those with some familiarity with the form.

What does the afternoon schedule look like from start to finish?

You meet at the Shiki Museum at noon, spend 40 minutes inside, then attend a 50-minute lecture on English haiku. At two o'clock, you walk the Funaya Ryokan garden for an hour, then return to the museum for a 90-minute haiku composition and feedback session. The program ends at 4:40 p.m.

Is this workshop suitable for someone who speaks English as a second language?

Participants must be comfortable reading, writing, and speaking English, since the lecture, haiku composition, and instructor commentary all take place in English. The instructor is fluent and experienced, but the workshop is conducted entirely in English without translation.