Senkoji
TEL : 0745-45-0652Address : 188 Narukawa, Heguri, Ikoma District, NaraAccess : Kintetsu Ikoma Line Motoyamakamiguchi Station (bus) > Chuokoen Kitaguchi
bus stop > 25 minutes walkTime : Check-in 16:00 Check-out 10:00Room : max 30 people
Shukubo (temple stay)
This is a place of Shugendo opened by practitioners in a mountain. The shukubo serves as a youth hostel in which you share rooms with other people.
According to a legend, a male will find a good wife if he lifts up the iron stick in the precinct three times and a female will find a good husband if she wears a pair of iron geta (sandals) three times. You are free to try this. Also, on Saturdays and Sundays, you will be able to experience zazen and shakyo (copying sutra by hand).
The rooms are Japanese style.
The head priest and his wife are very frank. When I stayed there, I was the only guest, and we talked about a lot of things and took pictures together to commemorate the stay.
I also experienced shakyo . I felt good and calm while quietly copying the Heart Sutra. Although my handwriting was in no way good, I wrote down my prayer and dedicated it to Buddha.
I ate meals together with the people in the temple. It was warm home cooking. The breakfast included rice porridge with potato, soup and pickles. We ate according to Buddhism rules for meals, such as scooping some porridge with a pair of chopsticks, dividing it into seven on a board and dedicating it to people who could not eat.
The syakujyo (iron stick) and tetsugeta (iron sandals), to which people pray for a good marriage, are terribly heavy. It is mysterious that anyone can lift them. It may be impossible to do so unless one obtains magical power from ascetic training.
