Koya Hotels with Free Parking.

All the monks/nuns that worked at the shukubo were so helpful and welcoming! The food both dinner and breakfast was delicious and presented so nicely. We loved getting involved with the morning service as well. This was definitely a highlight of our trip to Japan!

It is said to be the imperial residence of Emperor Toba and Empress. It has a beautiful environment and the hardware is new and clean. The location is good, in the middle, you can walk to major attractions in ten minutes. There is a short uphill walk to get off the bus. I booked a Japanese-style room with a bathroom. I stayed in a room on the second floor. There was a small entrance hall, a sink, and a small bathroom at the entrance. It's very cold in Mount Koya in winter. With the air conditioner and heating on, the room is very warm. The breakfast and dinner of Shojin cuisine are very sumptuous. In the morning class, the master will lead the chanting of sutras and incense, as well as Azi Temple meditation. If you want to participate in the fire offering, you need to make reservations at other temples. There are dedicated people who come to the room to take meals and morning classes, and the service is very considerate. I’ll come back next time during the red leaf season.

Viewed as a hotel, the stay can be described as interesting and pleasant. However, anyone expecting a deeper insight into esoteric or Shingon Buddhism will be disappointed. Of course the evening/morning rituals and the vegan food are interesting and even spectacular, but hardly anything is explained and there is no opportunity for conversation or other contact with the monks. Since the journey to/from Osaka takes at least 3.5 hours, you should definitely plan on spending 2 nights in Koyasan so that you can see the sights without rushing. My impression was that the stay primarily serves to finance the temples, and not to introduce visitors to the teachings of Shingon Buddhism or the monks' way of life. I wouldn't travel to such a remote area again for this little insight.

The room was located in a stunning and truly beautiful temple. The person who welcomed us was incredibly kind and, the next morning, gave us a full tour of the temple and its different areas. The room was a bit cold in January but amazing, and the public baths were not always very convenient, but the hot onsen at the end of the day, along with the friendliness and authentic atmosphere, made the experience truly wonderful.

It wasn't the most pleasant experience considering that the males n females had to share toilets and that some other rooms had private toilets n bath instead. And also the fact that the walls are super thin hence whomever is connected to your room if their loud or they don't like your voice volume than you might get kicked to the curb. It's a very frustrating experience for sure since it tests one's patience n ability to let go. It's training for the customers n monks alike. I met a Japanese friend here whom shared with me how rude the monks and the staff were to one another n I think that shows the quality of this place however we were pretty lucky as there was a male who spoke mandarin n a male who spoke English both quite well in this place n though the mandarin speaker was quite condescending towards the other monks, the English speaker was really nice n patient overall. He helped me out a lot since we couldn't communicate with the others n seemed to be the only customers that spoke English whom booked this place by ourselves, the others around seemed to have a guide n were usually in groups. It's a unique experience n I recommend just staying for one night or going to the other temples. I went for the ajikan meditation at eko in temple n the service n cleanliness was on another level for sure. The food here was also really simple. Also a must see are the tomb area n the walk to kobold daishi temple. As a sensitive person, I felt the overwhelming love n presence and the cleanse of my heart of this amazing soul over there. To me, that was worth it. Remember to clean yourself with the water out front before going in.... and of course to the amazing fateful friendship that occurred for us with the jap-********* couple we met. It was the next fav of mine after the time spent in nara visitor center. That was truly magickal n how I wished we stayed longer there. But all was good cause the way I planned this trip made it so that we would have this fateful encounter to the end of our trip.