清浄心院 -Shojo Shin-in-

The property is gorgeous, the meals were delicious and the morning prayer and fire ceremony which are included in room price are worth attending. The traditional rooms are also beautiful with lovely views of the garden. The onsen style bathing area was also lovely and everything was super clean. It’s very close to the beautiful cemetery which is worth a walk in the daytime and after dark.

It was more expensive than we anticipated but we didn’t want to miss out on the experience. It is expected due to the age of the accommodation and paper walls, but be prepared to hear neighbouring rooms walk to the bathroom in the night, cough, snore etc. it was not the most restful sleep for a light sleeper but still worth the experience.

We arrived in time to have a tour of the temple which starts at 12.30 and really enjoyed learning about the history of the temple and taking part in the fire ceremony at 1pm. I’d recommend arriving for this and giving yourselves enough time to also see the nearby temples. The location is very near to the cemetery entrance so we were able to walk after dinner (which is at 5.30) and then again in the morning for the food ceremony. The staff were wonderfully kind and helpful and gave us recommendations and explained bathing since it was our first onsen experience. Dinner was delicious and vegetarian, and felt like a very transitional experience. The room was beautiful and a comfortable futon, although walls are very thin so we appreciated the 10pm bedtime so everyone could sleep without being disturbed.

The baths are only open at certain times so can get busy, so factor this into your schedule.

Highly recommend this experience, highlight of my trip to Japan

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Great location, beautiful grounds and comfortable room

A little pricey for shared bathrooms really, but the experience is genuine and it is an honour to stay in this sacred place with the monks who steward it