117 lodging places
Currently, there are 117 temples in Koyasan, of which 52 have Shukubo lodging facilities. Each Shukubo has different characteristics, including Buddhist cuisine, a variety of guest rooms, baths and gardens. When lodging at Shukubo, you will be able to observe the morning duties of the monks, and you can enjoy a relaxed tour of the countless historical temples. You will experience unique aspects of Japanese culture at these precious lodges, where you can also enjoy Buddhist cuisine (a cuisine based on the Buddhist teachings that forbid killing of any kind, and that only uses grains, beans and vegetables without any meat or fish), and you can stay in a traditional Japanese-style room with a futon rolled out on tatami straw mats.
Lodging for overseas visitors
We will now introduce some of our recommended Shukubo. Many foreign travellers come to Eko-in, a pilgrim’s lodge near the inner sanctuary where guests can experience Ajikan meditation and sutra copying for free. Ichijo-in is located in the middle of Koyasan, which is convenient for visiting temples where you can enjoy water-feature gardens with colored carp, and grand temple buildings. Jimyo-in is also centrally located, and you can eat Koyasan’s famous freeze-dried tofu and sesame tofu at the temple, which is encompassed by a 6600 square meter garden. Reservations at Shukubo must be made online in advance via the official Koyasan Shukubo website (http://eng.shukubo.net/). For access to Koyasan, we recommend taking the special Tenku train service between Hashimoto Station and Koyasan Station. This train journey takes about 50 minutes, giving you opportunity to thoroughly and calmly enjoy the scenery.