Japan? category ?

There are a variety of experiences you can have at a temple stay. Here we introduce some of the most common training experiences you can have at a temple stay, including Morning services, Zazen (Zen meditation), Ajikan, Copying sutras, Copying Buddha images, Waterfall training, and Buddhist vegetarian cuisine.

One of the joys of staying at a temple is the morning service. The services performed by a large number of monks are particularly impressive. Here we introduce temple stays where you can attend large-scale services with dozens to over a hundred monks.

There are many things to enjoy at temple and shrine stays, such as being able to see cultural assets, experience zen meditation and copying sutras, and enjoy vegetarian cuisine. However, what you can do varies depending on the temple stay. Here are some points to consider when choosing a temple and shrine stay.

Shojin ryori is a cuisine made without meat or fish, based on the Buddhist principle of forbidding killing. It is also important to cook with the people who will be eating it in mind. Here we have compiled a list of syukubo (temple stay) that are popular for their shojin ryori cuisine, sorted by region.

Zazen is a practice in which you sit upright, regulate your breathing, and concentrate your mind. There are also many other meditation practices in Buddhism. We have compiled a list of shukubo (temple stay) where you can experience zazen and meditation by region.

We've looked into the top 10 largest traditional wooden temples in Kyoto. Size was ranked by area (width x depth). The largest wooden building in Kyoto is the Goeido Hall of Higashi-Honganji Temple. Please use this as reference information for your trip to Kyoto.