A SEVEN-DAY IMMERSIVE RETREAT
JAPAN | 22ND – 29TH MAY 2027
Specially designed for industry professionals, the Synergy Immersion in Japan is a unique partnership with Walking Mentorship, created to extend the Synergy experience into a deeper journey of reflection, connection, and personal transformation.
Set along the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route in Japan, this full-week immersion offers the opportunity to step away from the intensity of everyday life and fully integrate the insights, relationships, and inspiration gained through Synergy. Over seven days, walking through one of Japan’s most sacred and beautiful landscapes becomes a powerful way to slow down, reconnect with yourself, and explore what comes next.
Guided by João Perre Viana and Nuno Santos Fernandes, partners at Walking Mentorship, the experience combines purposeful walking, mentoring, reflection, nature, Japanese culture, and meaningful conversation. Each day offers a balance between physical movement and moments of stillness, allowing participants to process their Synergy experience while creating space for new perspectives and possibilities.
PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
Day 1: May 22
Arrival in Japan
Onward journey to Tanabe via KIX
Day 2: May 23
Walk to Takijiri
Stay in Takijiri
Day 3: May 24
Walk to Takahara
Stay in Takahara
Day 4: May 25
Walk to Chikatsuyu
Stay in Chikatsuyu
Day 5: May 26
Walk to Doyugawa-bashi
Stay in Chikatsuyu
Day 6: May 27
Walk to Hosshinmon
Stay in Kawayu
Day 7: May 28
Walk to Hongu
Stay at Manseiro, Katsuura
Day 8: May 29
Train journey to KIX
A WEEK TO WALK, REFLECT & CONNECT
The Kumano Kodo provides a unique setting for this journey. Ancient forests, mountain paths, sacred shrines, traditional villages, and Japanese hospitality create the conditions to disconnect from the noise and reconnect with what truly matters.
Walking together, participants will have the opportunity to deepen relationships with fellow industry professionals in a more intimate environment, while exploring questions around purpose, leadership, wellbeing, and the future of their personal and professional journeys. This is more than an extension of Synergy. It is an opportunity to embody it.
Through the Walking Mentorship approach, the journey transforms walking into a space for meaningful dialogue and reflection — helping participants move from inspiration to integration, and from ideas to action.
A JOURNEY BEYOND THE EVENT
This first-of-its-kind collaboration between Synergy and Walking Mentorship invites participants to experience Japan not simply as a destination, but as a living environment for transformation.
By the end of the week, participants will have walked through an extraordinary landscape, experienced the traditions and spirit of the Kumano Kodo, strengthened meaningful connections, and created the space to return home with greater clarity, renewed energy, and a stronger sense of what comes next.
JOAO PERRE VIANA - FACILITATOR
João is the founder and pioneer of Walking Mentorship, combining walking in nature with individual and group mentoring. A tool to inspire and motivate individual change and impact organisations from within.
João considers himself a citizen of the world, as he was born in Portugal, finished high school in the U.S., and completed his MBA in Belgium. His senior management life took him to Central Asia, then to Eastern Europe, and finally to Africa.
Throughout his personal and professional life, he has acquired extensive experience as a business mentor in multinationals, accelerators, incubators, and corporate programmes.
In 2015, he launched Walking Mentorship, an innovative project 20 years in the making.
NUNO SANTOS FERNANDES - FACILITATOR
Nuno loves to look for the path less travelled, challenging limits and developing with like-minded people.
Nuno graduated with a Public Relations and Publicity degree at INP and later completed the Advanced Management Program for Executives at Católica – Lisbon School of Business & Economics, focusing on leadership and people management and motivation.
Entrepreneurship is a constant driver, and from very early on Nuno started and managed several businesses in such diverse areas as a marketing agency, agriculture and forestry, a dog hotel, real estate management, a group of veterinary clinics, and an environmental NGO.
Nuno is an accredited Senior Practitioner by the EMCC and a Kaospilot Learning Arches Design practitioner. With extensive experience in creating and developing businesses and mentoring teams in diverse working environments, the connection to the Walking Mentorship project started in 2016 and naturally evolved from being a participant to becoming a co-mentor and partner.
LAURA MONTESANTI - HOST
Laura Montesanti is the founder of Synergy – The Retreat Show, a wellness travel expert and global industry connector whose international career has spanned luxury travel, hospitality and wellness since 1997.
Having lived and worked across several countries and travelled extensively throughout her life, Laura has always been drawn to discovering different cultures, perspectives and ways of living. Alongside her professional journey, she has spent many years exploring wellness, personal development and healing traditions around the world, shaping both the way she lives and the work she creates today.
At the heart of Laura’s approach is a belief in the power of human connection, shared experiences and stepping outside our everyday environments to see things differently. She believes meaningful conversations often emerge when we create enough space to slow down, listen and connect, with ourselves, with others and with the world around us.