The question people ask before booking
“How strong is it?”
It comes up in almost every first message, and more often from people who have had a bad experience somewhere before. It deserves a straight answer, and the straight answer is not a number on a scale.
Pressure is not something you order
An osteopath is a servant of your vitality, not a servant of your brain.
We follow what the tissue asks for, which is not always what you would ask for. This is not massage, so “firmer please” is not something we can work from.
That sounds unhelpful until you see what it protects. If the amount of force were set by preference, the session would be shaped by what you expected before you arrived — which is exactly the information least likely to be right about a body you cannot see inside.
What is yours to decide
Everything else.
If anything feels frightening or unpleasant, say so at any point and we stop. Not at the end of the technique. At the moment you say it.
If a region is off-limits, it is off-limits.
And if an approach isn’t working for you, there are other ways to do the same work. Osteopathy is not one method; there are many, and they reach similar places by different routes. We change the method, not the amount of force.
Two areas that surprise people
It is better to say these here than in the room.
Osteopathy works with the whole structure, and two bony landmarks come up in almost every session: the tailbone (coccyx) and the breastbone (sternum). Contact is external — through clothing, or a light touch on the skin. There is no internal examination of any kind. The breasts and genitals are never touched.
If you would rather those two areas were left alone, say so and they will be left alone. I’ll be straight with you about what that means: they are two of the places the body organises a great deal around, so leaving them out narrows what there is to work with in an hour. That is a real trade-off, not a reason to override you. The choice is yours and it stays yours.
What it actually feels like
Most people expect something stronger than what happens.
Some of what we do involves movement you can clearly feel. Some of it looks, from the outside, like almost nothing — hands resting, very little happening. Both are the work.
The reason there is so little force is that the force isn’t ours to supply. The body has its own motion, and we work with that rather than against it. The closest image I have is a potter’s wheel: the clay is already turning, and the hands shape by meeting that movement. Push harder and you don’t get a better pot. You get a collapsed one.
Afterwards
Some people feel tired, or a little unsettled, in the first 24 to 48 hours. Others feel nothing much at all. Both are ordinary.
Why this happens is not fully settled, and I’d rather say that than pretend otherwise. The way I describe it to patients is this: the body — the nervous system in particular — does not love change. When the tissues start sending different information than they were sending yesterday, there can be a stretch of not quite knowing what to do with it. That is how I make sense of what I see clinically. It is not an established mechanism, and you will find osteopaths who explain it differently.
What I can say with more confidence is what it usually looks like: mild, short, and fading rather than building.
This is different from pain that keeps increasing after 48 hours, new numbness or weakness, fever, or anything that frightens you. Those are reasons to contact a doctor, not to wait it out.
Practical details
Sessions run in English with Yusuke Sakata, BSc(Ost), on the ground floor (1F). Clothes to change into are provided, so come as you are. No referral is needed.
Filling in the intake form before you arrive is the single most useful thing you can do — it means the hour goes into reading your situation rather than into paperwork.
Visiting Kyoto for a few days and wondering whether a single session is worth it? We wrote about that here.
Not sure whether you want an osteopath or a physiotherapist? Here is what those words mean in Japan.
FAQ
Does osteopathy hurt?
Usually less than people expect. Some techniques involve movement you can feel; others look from the outside like almost nothing is happening. If anything is frightening or unpleasant, say so and we stop.
Can I ask for firmer or gentler pressure?
No, and this is the one thing that isn’t yours to set. This is not massage. The contact follows what the tissue asks for rather than what was requested in advance. What you can always do is stop the session, or ask for a different approach.
What if I don’t want a particular area touched?
Then it isn’t touched. Say so at the start, or at any point during the hour.
Is there any internal examination?
No. All contact is external — through clothing or a light touch on the skin. The breasts and genitals are never touched.
Why does the osteopath touch my tailbone and breastbone?
Both are places the body organises a great deal of its structure around, so they come up in almost every session. Contact is external only. If you would rather they were left alone, they will be.
Some techniques look like nothing is happening. Is that normal?
Yes. The force isn’t supplied from our side — the body has its own motion and the work meets it. Very little needs to happen externally for that.
Will I be sore afterwards?
Some people feel mildly tired or sore for 24 to 48 hours; others feel nothing. Pain that keeps increasing after 48 hours, new numbness or weakness, or fever are different, and are reasons to contact a doctor.
Visiting
Kyoto Osteopathy Center OQ — the original osteopathy clinic in Kyoto, established February 2007.
466 Shichikencho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8366 2 minutes from Hankyu Omiya Station Tel: 075-822-3003 Reception 9:00–22:30 (last booking 21:30)
🟧 Ground floor (1F), orange sign — Yusuke Sakata (osteopathy) 🟦 Blue sign, one floor up (2F) — Sota Omura, Japanese-licensed physiotherapist
Intake form: https://o-q.jp/intake/ Booking: https://kyotoosteo.simplybook.asia/v2/#book Map: https://maps.app.goo.gl/kGJem4DeSvK6SGyZ7
✍️ Written by Yusuke Sakata, Director, BSc(Ost) — Bachelor of Science in Osteopathy, Swansea University, Wales, UK. EVOST. The Institute of Classical Osteopathy. Cranial Academy (USA) 40-hour cranial programme. Mind & Membrain certified practitioner. Over 25 years in clinical practice, working with children, pregnancy, post-surgical recovery and whole-body concerns.