Fasting Experience at Goshiki Prefectural Health Village Health Dojo
I went fasting. Actually, this is my second time. This time, I am taking on a long stay of 11 days and 10 nights, which is significantly longer than the 4 nights and 5 days I experienced before.
The previous 4-night, 5-day fast was super, super good, so...
In my case, my weight is normal, but
because I cannot stop drinking alcohol and eating sweets by my own will, I took the form of forced execution by entering a fasting dojo.
A fasting dojo in Awaji Island managed by doctors.
The first thing you do when you arrive at the dojo is a health check.
The doctor will diagnose whether you are in a healthy enough state to fast.
Fasting also requires physical strength... so at this dojo, those over 60 cannot fast and will be on a small-meal course instead.
When I did the 4-night, 5-day fast last time, it was my first time fasting in my life, so I was nervous, but this time it is a relatively calm and quiet start.
Fasting with unexpected 'snacks'
This 11-day, 10-night course had a major feature.
Usually, during a fast, you only have special juice.
Since fasting with only water puts a burden on the liver, special juice containing the minimum necessary nutrients (protein, vitamins, minerals) is provided for three meals.
However, this time, I get a late-night snack!
Every night, I get cookies and yogurt or soy milk.
You might think, 'Snacks while fasting?', but this is specified by the doctor who is the head of the fasting dojo.
During my last fast, I had a hypoglycemic attack.
On the morning of the second day, I was struck by nausea, vomiting, and a headache like a hangover. Because of that history, it seems I was given a late-night snack this time.
It is a medical instruction to prevent sudden hypoglycemic attacks caused by complete fasting.
And there was a world of difference between having and not having a 'late-night snack'!!
It's not hard at all!
There is no hunger from starvation.
Super easy!!!
At night, when I was looking at my smartphone, a friend sent me pictures of pork cutlet curry and donuts. Normally, I would be writhing in agony wanting to eat them, but by the first day, I was already able to feel 'meh' about it.
This is the power of snacks!
My body had already begun to be cut off from the gluttony of the outside world.
A person I met at the facility said, 'I came here because I can't resist eating at home. If I'm going to resist at home, I have to be put in a cage,' and I laughed.
It's really true.
I can resist because there is nothing here.
Morinaga biscuits and soy milk in the midst of nothing.
Awaji Island yogurt.
Wrapped in considerable satisfaction, the fast began.
The morning of the second day of the fasting life.
The first thing that surprised me was the result of my morning blood pressure measurement. During the previous 4-night, 5-day fast, my blood pressure on the first day was a bit high at 129/78, but this time it was stable at a low value of 106/74 from the first day.
This might be proof that my body is accepting the second fast in a relaxed state from the beginning.
However, just because the numbers are stable doesn't mean the physical sensation is easy. When I was drinking only plenty of water from the morning (2000cc of water per day), my stomach started to 'rumble'.
Why does my gut get so noisy with just water when I haven't eaten anything??
Or rather, is it easier for the gut to be active because I haven't eaten anything??
Daily routine
A day at the fasting dojo is like this.
6:00 Wake up, urine (ketone) test, weight measurement, blood pressure measurement, pulse measurement, body temperature measurement
7:15 Nurse's rounds
7:30 Breakfast
9:00 Tai Chi, Dantian breathing method
10:10 Dojo head's medical examination
10:45 DVD lecture
11:30 Lunch
12:30 DVD lecture
15:00 Pulse measurement, body temperature measurement
15:45 Dantian breathing method
17:00 Dinner
19:00 Bathing
19:40 Late-night snack
21:00 Nurse's rounds
22:00 Lights out
Breathing methods and DVD lectures are optional, so I went occasionally.
Also, I liked taking walks on the path behind the facility. The Japanese bush warblers are singing realistically.
There is also a library, and the sunset I saw from there soaked into my eyes and heart.
Maybe it's an effect of fasting that the scenery looks even better.
You can also optionally take a 'mind analysis' to clarify the causes of rebounding. Most causes of rebounding are stress.
It seems that overeating accelerates as a way to release stress.
By understanding your own personality, you can learn to effectively let go of stress. This is psychosomatic medicine built over a 40-year history.
I also participated, and I was moved by the sharp, insightful analysis and great humanity of the Dojo Director, who I couldn't believe was over 70 years old.
The rule of "No bathtub bathing"
There are several rules at the dojo. During fasting, "entering a bathtub is prohibited." This might be tough for people who love baths.
It seems that during fasting, restricted energy intake reduces blood flow, making you more prone to concussions.
Warming up in a bathtub seems to skyrocket the risk of dizziness and falling.
I also heard an incident where "in the past, someone broke the rules and soaked in the tub, only to fall right there."
Also, the dojo is located in the mountains, and it seems someone even collapsed while taking a walk on the slopes.
Because your body is changing dramatically during fasting,
it is dangerous to act the same way you always do!!
"Natural analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects" from ketone bodies
Perhaps due to menopause, my back would be stiff as a board when I woke up in the morning, taking about 5 minutes to get up, but during the fast, I was able to get up smoothly!
It seems it was thanks to ketones.
When the body runs out of sugar (glycogen), it breaks down fat and muscle protein to create energy.
The "ketone bodies" produced during the process of fat breakdown become an important energy source for the brain and heart.
These ketone bodies have a powerful anti-inflammatory effect. It can be inferred that inflammation in the body was suppressed, easing the pain. ← AI research
Ketone bodies are amazing!!
Fasting is not just a means of weight loss; it can be said that it was a process of visualizing the "hidden inflammation (pain)" that one's body was carrying through a substance called ketone bodies. That's what they say. According to Gemini.
It's no wonder everyone says to become ketone-adapted.
The 11-day, 10-night fasting life has finally reached its halfway point.
I reached the 5th day.
On this day, I could clearly feel that I was in the "best condition" of my entire stay.
I felt the lightness of my body the moment I woke up.
Life in the dojo is basically about fasting and resting the body without exercising.
Amidst that, I felt a sense of energy welling up.
When I happened to look to the side, my roommate was sinking into their bed. They had been active the whole time, but apparently, they couldn't move from the bed.
In contrast, I was strangely energetic. Where on earth does this difference come from?!
Is it the "late-night snack" after all!?
The biggest reason why this 11-day, 10-night stay was "surprisingly easy" and "not grueling" compared to the last time is undoubtedly the presence of the "late-night snack."
The cookies and yogurt, or sweet soy milk provided every night. Choosing one from the three options—Morinaga biscuits, Marie, or Moonlight—was my only daily pleasure.
This small intake of carbohydrates likely stabilized my blood sugar and created a state of "feeling in top form" by the fifth day.
However, because I was feeling too good, I ended up playing with my smartphone until right before bed, which overstimulated my nerves and led to a situation where I kept waking up in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep at all. Even though I had been filled with a peaceful feeling of stable blood sugar...
The taste of the meal I ate for the first time in 6 days was...
I often hear stories that when you fast, "your sense of taste becomes sharpened, and you are moved to tears by the taste of a single cup of dashi broth." I was secretly hoping for that too. However, even though it was my first meal in 6 days, my tongue didn't experience such emotion. Just like last time, I thought, "The flavor is bland..."
The meals provided at the dojo are controlled meals with a bland flavor, thoroughly stripped of any greasiness.
They are carefully prepared and delicious, but there is no "emotion that sends an electric current through the five senses." Perhaps the tongue of a worker who prefers salty flavors doesn't change that easily.
The biggest feature of the meals at the dojo is that they are "completely free of greasiness." Other people also said, "My blood pressure doesn't go up with the meals here." The body is honest.
The dojo's cuisine is a "bland controlled diet," and excess salt and fat are thoroughly eliminated. But the taste is much better than at a hospital, so the level of satisfaction is high.
The quality of the food here is high, and there were even users who came because they wanted to eat the meals. Apparently, it's because it's a hassle to cook at home (lol).
Also, people who come to abstain from alcohol for a certain period. Just like me!
Since you get hungry while fasting, the priority of alcohol drops, making it easier to abstain. That is certainly true.
My favorite is the bread at breakfast. It's apparently homemade, and it has a fluffy, happy taste. I'm also happy that I can choose the jam. Being able to get excited about just the jam with other facility users, saying things like "The chocolate was delicious! It was surprisingly rich" or "I tried the apricot!", is because there's nothing else to eat (lol).
The 7-day struggle of 'nothing coming out'
During this period, the physical reaction I was most concerned about was the issue of excretion. In fact, at this point, my bowel movements had stopped for almost 6 to 7 days. My stomach would rumble and I would pass gas, but the actual stool would not come out.
While I thought, 'It's natural not to have anything come out if I'm not eating,' there was a strange sense of stagnation, as if old things were accumulating inside my body. Still, the fact that I had no discomfort or abdominal pain is likely because the meals at the dojo are carefully calculated. Well, I'm constipated to begin with, so it doesn't bother me that much.
A 'calm' that visited my heart
Mental changes appeared in a quieter form. Before the fast, my head was full of negative noise, constantly thinking about work or 'annoying people.'
The feelings like 'That annoying guy, why did he do that! I can't forgive him!' disappeared, and it felt completely irrelevant, or rather, it stopped coming to mind at all.
It's amazing how stable blood sugar levels are... my mental state is so peaceful...
The 8th-day ketone disappearance incident
On the morning of the 8th day, as I entered the latter half of the fast, I was checking my urine as usual when the ketones that had been detected until then suddenly stopped appearing.
Simultaneously with this 'disappearance of ketones,' the 'body pain' that I had completely stopped feeling when waking up in the morning returned just as it had been before the fast.
I guess without Lord Ketone, there is no one to extinguish the inflammation.
Should I choose to eat, or choose a body without pain?
Or rather, how can I eat a diet that doesn't cause inflammation?
That seems to be the challenge when I return to the 'lower world'.
Thus, the 11-day, 10-night fasting experience came to an end.
The dramatic gap in seasoning in the 'lower world'
After getting used to the dojo's meals, when I left the facility and had a Japanese-style soup lunch at a hotel, the taste was so strong and the portion so large that I felt exhausted from eating.
And I'm someone who loves strong flavors!
Since the dojo provides 'low-salt controlled meals,' I realized just how much salt is in my daily diet. I felt like I had dirtied the body I had worked so hard to clean...
In the end, which was better, 5 days/4 nights or 11 days/10 nights?
Regarding weight change, both this 11-day/10-night fasting experience and the previous one (5 days/4 nights) resulted in minus 3 kilograms for me. Which one was actually more appropriate for me?
If you are looking for a 'dramatic change in feelings': 5 days/4 nights
In the second 11-day/10-night experience, I didn't feel as much of a change in consciousness as the first time, and I felt that doing it for longer didn't change much. It doesn't seem like weight loss is necessarily greater just because you do it for longer. That said, an acquaintance of mine said they lost 11 kilograms on the 11-day/10-night course. Maybe it depends on the person.
If you are looking for 'physical stability and a fundamental reset': 11 days/10 nights
This 11-day/10-night experience was surprisingly easy and had a deep effect.
I realized that I had 'no hunger at all' after leaving the facility, and that was the biggest benefit.
By suppressing the fluctuations in blood sugar levels, my heart became peaceful. On the way home from the fasting dojo, I heard a baby crying, and although I would usually think it was annoying, I was able to let it pass by like a 'soundtrack'!
I feel like if everyone ate this way, there would be no more people snapping on the train.
Also, while my body was producing ketone bodies, I was able to experience a bodily mechanism (a natural analgesic effect) that I only noticed because it was a long-term fast: 'the disappearance of physical pain'.
For a body in its 50s, it was very beneficial to be able to safely and reliably reset my 'appetite,' 'blood pressure,' and 'mental state' under medical supervision (late-night snacks) without causing hypoglycemia through unreasonable fasting.
If the goal is future maintenance of the body, I think a relaxed, long-term fast like this one suited me better because it creates a foundation (the disappearance of hunger) that makes it harder to rebound.
The 'Awaji Island Goshiki Prefectural Health Dojo' closes its 44-year history on March 10, 2026.
The 'Awaji Island Goshiki Prefectural Health Dojo' closed its 44-year history on March 10, 2026.
Established in 1982 as a joint project between Hyogo Prefecture and Goshiki Town with the goal of '21st-century health medicine,' it is said to have had 23,000 users.
Starting April 1, 2026, a new venue has begun under the title 'Health Medicine Course for 23,000 Graduates,' sharing the 'new psychosomatic medicine' born from its 44-year journey.
https://www.sasadayu.jp/
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Although the form has changed, the 'wisdom to regulate oneself' gained here is a lifelong treasure. With heartfelt gratitude to the dojo that continued to save the minds and bodies of so many people for 44 years.
