Temple Hotel Takayama Zenkoji

Good for foreigner to experience Japanese culture, buddhist priest in the morning is fluent in English for explain the meaning and what to do. Room is quite big in some plan, but quite cold during winter season. Other than that, it is clean and able to customize your stay with some buddhist activity. we didnt eat at here, but outside Takayama city, plenty of delicious local restaurant is available.

This was my favorite place we stayed during a 2-week trip where we stayed at 7 different hotels. I can't recommend it highly enough. Really cool atmosphere, beautiful building and garden, friendly and helpful staff, and very pleasant rooms including the most comfortable bed I slept on during the whole trip. I wish I could have taken the whole futon setup home with me and replaced my bed with it. The apprentice who checked us in was really fun and interesting to talk to and chatted with us for a while about the temple, Buddhism, and his own journey there. We also did the "dark tunnel" activity and the morning prayer chanting service, both of which we really enjoyed. I really want to come back to Takayama and stay here longer!

Was around the globe with my hub and only find time to write this now :P The resident monk Kaiji-san is very good in English and was able to provide clear and wonderful information about Buddhism, meditation and the temple. The temple rooms are very clean and puts you in a contemplative mood to relax in. The bathrooms are all clean and modern. There is plenty of space in the room and it is impossible to feel claustrophobic. You can also have time to yourself at the public section of the spacious main hall in the evenings to find "inner peace" if you wish to be outside your room. There is also this verrry cute instagram worthy "cafe-house" breakfast place that sells omelette and sandwiches just across the street from the front facade of the temple where you can dine in and stack the small town experience. The 10 mins walk from the train station to the temple is along the not-very-busy well-tarmacked main roads so lugging your suitcases is not a problem. The temple is a pleasant and safe 10 mins walk on the quaint and quiet neighbourhood street along a not too busy road to bring you to the old town in where you find coffee places, soba inns, quaint local produces and a lovely river with a morning market to spend time in. Just a stone throw behind the temple and housed within a petrol station is the 24hours 7-11 convenience store for what you need (or wish to buy) and for cute Japanese snacks to try. There is also a local hospital is nearby for emergencies. Excellent place to stay for a quiet rest at night and a lovely lively town to visit in the day! Highly recommend to stay here in Hida!

We stayed at this temple hotel overnight as part of a tour of Japan. The accommodation was simple and I experienced my first time sleeping on a traditional futon, which was an experience in itself. We had to respect the customs of the temple, i.e. take shoes off before entering the building. We tried the communal bathing rooms (but on a one to one basis, not sharing) which was refreshing. The toilets and washbasins were shared. The breakfast was lovely, the staff friendly and helpful. A lovely new experience for me. We attended the early morning rituals by the monks at the temple which was a very moving service, before moving on to our next destination.

Staying here was a great experience and it felt genuine, we were truly staying at a temple. The shojin-ryori was exquisite, and so were the rooms. Last but not least, the staff were hospitable and very friendly. A wonderful experience. Would recommend.