Mount Koya splurge · Splurge in Mount Koya
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Splurge in Mount Koya
Splurge in Mount Koya
About half of the over 120 temples in town offer lodging for pilgrims, known as shukub? in Japanese. Prices vary between �9,000 and �15,000 per night and include two meals. You will be offered the opportunity to join in the morning prayer session, a hypnotic experience involving sutra chanting, incense and gongs. Outside the main season, you can just show up at the Koya cable car station and book from there, but generally reservations are preferred. A full list is available , but note that not all temples are set up to handle visitors who don't speak Japanese.
Daienin (大圓院 or 大円院), tel. 0736-56-2009, . A fairly typical temple, centrally located (walking distance to both ends of town) and run by a friendly bunch of monks who know a little English. Large breakfasts (7:10am) and dinners (5:30pm) are provided by the monks, who retrieve you from your room when the meals are ready. They will also come to get you in the morning for morning worship (5:55am), so be awake and ready! Temple curfew is 10pm by the sliding door although the main gate closes at 6pm. Rate per person per night was ¥9500 in May 2011.
Koyasan Onsen Fukuchi-in (福智院), 657 Koya San, Koya-cho (1 min on foot from Keisatsusho-mae stop), ☎ +81-736-56-2021. The natural hot springs of Koya-san are available only at this hotel, are open 24 hours a day, and strictly for staying guests. Only vegetarian dishes are served here, and the meals, which feature seasonal ingredients, are painstakingly planned and prepared by the head chef with a different course every month. from ¥22.000. �
While the monks don't drink, alcohol is available to guests at dinner, and perhaps even from a vending machine. Temples have set hours at which the front gate is opened and closed, and the time the bath is available. This curfew can be as early as 9 PM, so don't expect to head out after dinner ? although you'll want to go to bed early anyway if you want to attend the morning prayers around 5 AM!
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Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Mount Koya - updated May 2024
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Mount Koya Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.