Temple stay– Japan –

This is a temple surrounded by abundant nature in the mountains. You are able to eat homemade shojin (vegetarian) food cooked under a nature-friendly policy. They also offer instructions on zazen practice and shakyo practice (copying sutra by hand).

Daisenji Temple was founded in 1599. There are three lodgings renovated from old houses close to the temple. Each room has a kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. There is also a washing machine, which is convenient for long-term stays. Services are held in the main hall and you can attend.

Saizenin Temple is located near the Great Pagoda of Koyasan. There is a room where Konosuke Matsushita, who founded Panasonic and grew it into a global company, stayed. You can stay in this room if you wish. There is also a garden designed by the famous gardener, Mirei Shigemori.

This temple began as a small hermitage built in 1745. The main hall houses an incarnation of the principal image of Zenkoji Temple in Nagano Prefecture. There is a shukubo on the temple grounds that only accepts one group per day.The Shukubo has a cafe attached.

Myokenji Temple was built in 1321. It is one of the eight Nichiren sect big temples in Kyoto. Accommodation is limited to women only. Upon entering the shukubo, there was a beautiful bamboo garden. The next morning, I attended the service held in the main hall.

Shodenji Temple is the hermitage where the 107th Emperor spent his later years in 1602. The shukubo is two stories high. Each floor has guest rooms, beds, a kitchen, toilets, and bathrooms (there is a shower room on the second floor). Multilingual support is also available.

Torinin is a temple built in 1531 within the grounds of Myoshinji Temple. The head priest is famous for his buddhist vegetarian cuisine and has written many books on it. The dinner menu consisted of rice, clear soup, chrysanthemum with white sesame sauce, stewed carrots and burdock, steamed radish, and pickles.

This is a sacred place of mountain worship located at the top of Mount Mitsumine with an altitude of 1,100 m in the Chichibu mountain chain. The shukubo is an older reinforced concrete building that looks like a school dormitory. The hot spring is good for muscle aches, neuralgia, joint pains, and sensitivity to cold.

This is a shukubo of Choraku-ji temple and located in walking distance from the temple. You can participate in shakyo (copying sutra by hand, a fee is charged), religious services in the morning and hiking. The room had all the necessary facilities. It was a new room equipped with a lavatory.

Zennoyu is located within the grounds of Jigen-in Temple, whose history began as a hermitage that was opened around 1299-1301. A weakly alkaline hot spring gushes forth within the temple grounds. I experienced zazen starting at 6am. I was able to sit peacefully in a quiet environment.