(don't mind the feathering on the first notecard. Evidently these cheap ¥100 note cards don't like fountain pen ink)
I studied Buddhism for many years before moving to Japan, but never really seriously, more of just a fancy, like listening to Alan Watts and exploring deep thoughts while drinking beers with the guys.
When I got to Japan I met almost randomly a Zen priest. I learned a lot from him, not the least of which was Zazen—Zen meditation.
Zazen differs from what we normally think of meditation in that there is no effort to trick the mind into not thinking by distracting it. No listening to the breath, no counting.
Well, different teachers do things differently, and in the beginning those tricks might be used. But later they are discarded, and some teachers discard them immediately. Such was mine.
The basic idea is you just sit. Just sit and observe. If a thought arises, notice that it is arising, accept that it is arising, maybe even see what it is, but then let it go, don't try to hold on to it or interact with it. Just sit.
There is a wonderful introduction to this concept from another teacher of mine. This is probably the single best introduction to the idea of Zazen that I have seen in all my years of studying Zen.
Just sit. Just be.
Years ago Baba Ram Dass, the former Dr Richard Alpert, wrote the wonderful book Be Here Now. Well, there we go. Nothing more to see here—move on. Or don't. Instead, just be.