Hi, friends! Have you heard about Japan temple stay? This week, let me show you around the beautiful Daimyoo-in temple, located in Koyasan.
Btw, sorry for the 1-month break. I just returned from Japan and China, back-to-back 🙈🙉🙊
I thought I would be fine, but I was exhausted… Luckily, I could sleep well because my AirAsia X airplane to China looked like THIS:
Another curious passenger who sat behind me asked the steward about the airplane. Oh, it turned out AirAsia bought the airplane from Singapore Airlines.
I felt so blessed I could cry… Thank you, Jesus!😭😭😭
Okay, back to the topic! What is Japan temple stay?
Instead of staying in hotels, you’re literally staying in a real, Japanese temple. Apparently, it’s not a new thing here!
I’m so happy to have two Japan temple stays during my 14-day trip with One Life Adventures (this isn’t a paid post). It feels so cultural, traditional, and special 🎎✨💖
Don’t get me started with the traditional Japanese interior design, tatami, onsen (hot spring baths), and of course… the delicious vegetarian meals that the monks usually eat.
Wait, what?? Yup, made me feel like blending in well with the Japanese ❤️❤️❤️
Without further ado, let’s take a short tour of Daimyoo-in, a charming Japan temple stay in Koyasan!
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Koyasan Japan Temple Stay: My room at Daimyoo-in
There are many rooms at Daimyoo-in, Koyasan. For those who bring luggage and have knee pain, you can opt for the rooms on the ground floor.
But those rooms don’t have a nice view like the photo above.
Then, the group tour took a few stairs (which weren’t steep) and passed this area. Separated by a corridor and a sliding wooden door, there was a lush garden right in front of the rooms.
Oh my God, these rooms are better than the ones on the ground floor! 🤩🤩🤩
Since it was a first-come-first-serve basis, I quickly left my belongings inside to mark my ‘territory’. Hahahaha…. #satisfied 😁😁😁
The room was huge, more than enough for my sister and I. There was a clothes rack, a mirror, a table, a heater, a TV, and some pillows that you could use for sitting.
In addition, you’ll get towels and Japanese sleeping robes!
However, do take notes:
- The beds here are extremely thin. But there’s a thick blanket and another blanket (the pink and blue ones). Use the thick blanket as your additional mattress to avoid back pain in the morning.
- The heater will turn off automatically after 3 hours. When you hear the reminder sound, remember to turn it on again.
Autumn in Koyasan is very cold, it was around 6 °C when I was there in early November. If you want to go to the toilet at night, you may want to run to the toilet to avoid the cold.
Hold on! Don’t run, please! The wooden floor is sensitive and many walls here are made of paper. You don’t want to wake up other guests 😅
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Admiring the Garden of Daimyoo-in, Japan Temple Stay Koyasan
This garden is located in the middle of the temple. I’m glad that I stayed there during autumn because the colourful trees were so beautiful!
I heard many times from my friends that Japan is very beautiful in autumn. Now I know why ❤️❤️❤️
My Japan temple stay at Daimyoo-in, Koyasan, was brief. I only stayed for one night, so I had to make the most of it.
After settling down in our rooms, the group departed to see a graveyard nearby. It was almost sunset. By the time I returned with the group, the sky would be dark!
So, I chose to stay at the temple to capture the memories and follow them afterward.
My Android camera doesn’t do justice to showing how beautiful the garden is. But here are some more photos, hehe 😊
The Vegetarian Meals at Daimyoo-in Temple, Koyasan
I never had such a mouth-watering vegetarian meal in my life. I mean, just look at my vegetarian dinner above! ❤️❤️❤️
My Japan temple stay at Daimyoo-in, Koyasan included dinner and breakfast. Both meals were vegetarian, and what we had was what the Japanese monks usually eat.
The rice was almost transparent and tasted so good, with furikake (a dry Japanese condiment) sprinkled on top of it.
The main course for that night was assorted, colourful vegetable tempura, cold tofu, and miso soup.
On the second tray, there was a mini hotpot filled with udon soup, a dessert plate of Japanese muscat grapes, and two bowls of vegetarian dessert.
For breakfast, we were a bit disappointed because… there was no furikake on top of our rice 🤧 Nevertheless, it was a hearty, vegetarian breakfast at Daimyoo-in, Koyasan.
I almost cleaned up everything, except for the pickles and sweetened giant kidney beans dessert. It was a hearty breakfast in a cold morning🌞🌞🌞
I didn’t know that vegetarian meals would be one of my highlights during my Japan temple stay. Thank you, Daimyoo-in Temple! 👍👍👍
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Onsen After Dinner at Daimyoo-in Temple, Koyasan
Okay, first, onsen and jacuzzi are different. Yes, you’re dipping your body in a pool of hot water for relaxation, but onsen uses hot springs.
At Daimyoo-in Temple, there are two separate onsen for males and females.
Don’t ever think of getting naughty. Both onsen are located right in front of the monks’ office, and there are CCTVs everywhere 😝😝😝
The onsen at Daimyoo-in Temple is spacious, complete with some hairdryers and a huge mirror. So, how do you use onsen?
Here are two basic onsen etiquette that you should know:
- Before onsen: wash your hair and body with shampoo and body soap, then rinse with the shower
- After that, you must enter the onsen fully naked
Since this is a private, temple onsen, it doesn’t matter if you have tattoos on your body.
But many public onsen in Japan don’t accept people with tattoos as the body art is commonly related to Yakuza or criminal gangs.
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Japan Temple Stay: Tour Around Daimyoo-in, Koyasan
If you feel the video is too long, you can see more photos of Daimyoo-in Temple below.
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Bonus: Okunoin, the Largest and Most Beautiful Graveyard in Japan
Earlier, I mentioned that the group tour went to visit a huge graveyard and I followed after I finished taking photos.
I thought it must be a special graveyard to be included in the itinerary. In fact, Okunoin is hailed as the largest and most beautiful graveyard in Japan!
It’s not far to get there from the Daimyoo-in Temple, around five-minute walk. I went there around 5:30 pm, the sky was still bright so I didn’t feel afraid exploring the graveyard myself.
Besides, there were some tourists too… although not many. Ah, whatever! I’m not gonna miss this opportunity…
Strangely, instead of feeling scared, it was very calming.
Walking inside Okunoin is like walking in a deep, serene jungle… There are more than 200,000 graves here and the two-kilometer walk leads you to Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum.
After a few minutes, I finally met with the group tour. They were already on their way back because the mausoleum had closed. Ah, too bad I didn’t get to see it!
Although it was only for two days and one night, my Japan temple stay at Daimyoo-in, Koyasan was very memorable.
I hope you like reading this post. Have a wonderful week🌸🌸🌸
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💖 15% OFF ALL TOURS! Click below and enter my discount code: 💖
CLARA15
Click “Add Promo Code / Voucher” and enter CLARA15 when you checkout at onelifeadventures.com
