Temple Lodging (and dining) in Japan

Koyasan - If you have guests coming to Japan and have about two or three days where you can take a jaunt down to the Osaka area, this is an itinerary that will be sure to have your guest talking for years about their visit to Japan. You can do this in conjunction with a visit to Kyoto too as we did, hitting Kyoto either on the way or on the way back. Disclaimer: if you only want the busy city life, bars, tall buildings and crowded trains, don't come here. If you want a true mountain retreat, read on.

Our "Hanare" or private guest residence with Japanese garden yard

The basic concept for those visiting this Koyasan is to sleep in a Buddhist temple and to see some of the great sights in this town. The mecca of Buddhist temples in Japan (and hence temple lodging) is at Koya mountain or Koyasan. This is truly an unforgettable experience.  After reading the reviews on Tripadvisor and other sites I was sold. After taking the trip myself, I'm still sold. Read more about it at UnmissableJapan or at some of the sites listed below.



View Larger Map



Our trip started from Yokosuka early in the morning and we headed up to Shin-Yokohama to get on the Shinkansen headed for Osaka. Once in Osaka follow these directions (from the Japanese Guest Houses.com website)

 Directions: From JR Shin-Osaka or JR Osaka train station, take the Midosuji subway line to Namba subway station, about a 15 minute subway ride. At Namba subway station, transfer to the Nankai Railway Station. It is a 1 hour 30 minute train ride on the Rapid Express train on the Nankai Koya rail line to Gokurakubashi train station. From Gokurakubashi train station, take the Koya-san cable car up Mt Koya, a 5 minute cable car ride. At the cable car station, ask for "A Guide to Koyasan" (the English map of Mt Koya) and you will see Shojoshin-in clearly marked near the entrance to Okunoin. It is about a 20 minute bus ride and the closest bus stop is Ichinohashiguchi Bus Stop.

These instructions are particular to the Shojoshin-in temple, but once you're on the bus you get off at whatever place you are staying at.

You can buy the tickets for the Nankai Koya Rail line trip to Gokurakubashi at a travel agency right next to Yokosuka-chuo train station. You can also wait and buy them at Namba station in Osaka no problem, but I wanted to minimize any possible delays in getting there, so I bought them ahead of time. If you choose to buy them ahead of time, be sure you time all your trips and transfers so that you make your scheduled train in time. We ended up having enough time at Namba Station to look around a bit and buy a bento for the train ride.

Some homes up in the mountains 

One of the views from the Nankai Koya rail line

The trip itself is enough of a memory. You ride the Bullet train to Osaka. After a transfer to Namba station you will get on another train - the Nankai Koya - and start heading for the mountains. Soon you'll be out of the city and the buildings will start giving way to forests. Flat land for steeper mountain grades. You'll get great views of the land below you and the air will start to clear.




Higher up you'll pass (and stop at a few) small train stations that are picture opportunities in and of themselves. You'll pass rivers and waterfalls and tiny mountain villages.

Eventually you'll get to the end of the line where the train stops and you'll have to get off. To the surprise of your guests (if you've kept it a secret) you now have to board a cable car (not the suspended type but below the car) and it will take you up a steep embankment to the next station up.

At the top you've finally arrived at Koya mountain. You're still about 2 miles from town center, so you'll have to board a bus. No walking is allowed. The bus cost is cheap and there are people there to guide you to buy the ticket and help you board. You'll wind through a beautiful winding mountain road as you head to town. Along the way you'll pass temples and get to see the town. You'll get off at the bus stop that is closest to your temple lodge. There are about 50 to choose from in the town. Some better than others. Use the reviews online to help you decide. We certainly did not go wrong with the Shojoshin-in.

Temple Gate

Get off the bus and you'll smell the pine and the cedar and the cool mountain air. Its a magical place. We visited in the summer and it was gorgeous.


View more about Koyasan here

 Temple lodging here


 General info on Koyasan


List of the inns

View from the family room at the private residence

 

You will be assigned the private residence (hanare) if you have enough in your group (I think 5 or more) but you can check with the folks at Japanguesthouse for details.

Note the porch with sliding doors and view of your garden.

If you have a smaller group you will be staying in a room connected to the main temple. The guest house shown is set off to the side.

Your stay includes temple style dining and breakfast. This means you'll be eating vegetarian. But the variety and taste is excellent and we ate until we were full.

Some of the temple grounds

The inn we stayed at was the Shojoshin-in Temple and booked through Japanese Guest Houses here:


The house had 3 tatami mat bedrooms all separated by sliding doors. The bedding was comfortable. It also included sitting room with tea, nice porch, a western toilet, a Japanese toilet, and a separate women's toilet, a shower and cedar hot bath area.


Trip advisor reviews



You are free to quietly wander the temple grounds. There is a lot to discover.

Monks serving dinner

You are expected to attend the morning prayers at 0600. You are mostly an observer, listening to the monks pray -  but at the end we all got a chance to participate in a prayer by walking into the shrine area, add some incense to a burning urn, and bow a few times. You're not really sure what you are doing but everyone just follows what the person before them did.




Recommend giving Koyasan two nights to do it comfortably. We did it in one night and would have liked to stay one more given a second chance.

Miyasan

There is a nice little Izakaya in town called Miyasan. They weren't serving food yet but we stopped in and had a beer while the husband and wife team were prepping for dinner. They were friendly and posed for a picture later outside.

It's not to hard to find and near the center of town by the tourist information center.

Path inside Okunoin

A visit to Koyasan is not complete without a visit to Okunoin.  It's a must do in fact. You'll take a 30 minute or so walk through a forest filled with ancient and huge cedar trees all surrounded by hundreds of thousands of grave sites/markers, dating back many centuries.

I think it's best to go in the late afternoon, before the mausoleum at the end closes, but late enough so that you can walk back in the darkness among the lamp lit path.

Monks coming back from prayers

There are many monks here of course and you're likely to encounter them not only in your temple, but out in the town. 

If you are a hiker, there are several trails in the area, including one that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that was and still is, used by pilgrims coming to the mountain.

We were very lucky, and chanced upon some kind of ritual baptism. They were all sitting in this mountain stream and chanting.  Surreal. It was along the walk in Okunoin.


There are other sites to see in Koyasan, but we only had time for Okunoin.

A stunning prayer hall at night that contained thousands of lanterns lit up as offerings both inside and outside.

Useful links
Link to Namba station map
Link to Koyasan info
Koya line train schedule
Osaka Rail map
Koyasan map
another useful Koyasan map
bus timetable Koyasan. This also shows train departure (from Namba) and arrival at Koysan