Gyokuzoin

I loved the stay, it was enchanting. I loved the walk up which was along steep paths lined with lanterns and festooned with banners. (If you come by car/taxi you can drive up to the top). And at night, with all the lanterns lit, the temple buildings, gardens & views of the stars & the city sparkling in the distance, it was magical. I loved that guests are greeted with a cup of tea & a twist of tiny, delicious chocolate leaves on arrival. The rooms are very spacious and calm, and the vegetarian food was beautifully presented & elegant. It is well worth getting up at 5 am for the goma fire ceremony. Be aware that for meals & ceremonies, you need to sit cross legged or kneeling on a flat cushion on the floor for extended periods.

I was disappointed that the sutra copying & Buddha drawing class wasn't available.

The vegetarian dishes were tasty, nice public bath and comfortable rooms with a beautiful view

When booking there it was written that you automatically get the vegetarian menu but on arrival they had the japanise menu preselected, a change was possible. A bit cold in the building. Also it was loud at night, the pipes making sounds or the airplanes

The location was beautiful, even in the rain. The monks were so friendly and helpful. We loved the early morning fire ceremony.

Lovely surroundings in the temple and spacious room.

We felt we didn't get much interaction with the monks. We went there because we wanted to learn about their way of life and the only interaction we had was them showing us to our room and the fire ceremony. The meals were served and everyone was whispering so it created a bit of an awkward atmosphere where we felt we weren't allowed to talk. We travelled for a while to get to this place which is not that accessible on public transport and overall we did not feel that it was worth coming all that way for one night when we did not learn anything about their way of life there.