Gyokuzoin

What an amazing place! So peaceful, in the midst of nature, with mountains views. Everyone was so hospitable. The biggest room we’ve stayed in Japan, with delicious food. Onsen was relaxing too. The bus connection from Oji is great (twice an hour on Sunday!), and we also took cable car from Osaka’s side, which was an absolute treat.

The moment we arrived and were welcomed, we were totally impressed. The walkways are amazing and the tranquil surroundings invoke calm and soothing thoughts. The facilities are awesome and our room spacious and comfortable. Dinner was the highlight! The most wonderful atmosphere and a lovely meal!

Breakfast was a little confusing given we did not know what we were eating but it was a generous meal nonetheless.

I am an American born man, so getting to experience a Shinto Temple first hand was a one of a kind experience. I

Sleeping on a bedroll wasn’t easy for me but that’s no fault of the establishment’s. I am simply not used to it.

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.