Japan is an incredible country. History, cuisine, and quirkiness all come to mind when this amazing destination is mentioned. Whether you’re religious or not, staying overnight in a Buddhist temple is a unique experience I think every traveller should experience at some point. If you’re searching for the best Buddhist Temple stay in Japan – look no further than Tayoji Temple!

Let me start off by saying I am not religious. Other than being baptized as a kid I have no ties to any religion. However, Buddhism is a faith I have always deeply respected as the core beliefs are peaceful in nature. So visiting Japan presented an opportunity to immerse myself and learn more about Buddhism, and what better way than to stay in a temple with a monk?

Taiyoji Temple stay, or ‘shukubo’ in Japanese, is a fantastic way to not only immerse yourself in nature, and learn from it, it also gives a great insight in into the culture of Japan.

Taiyoji Temple is on the main island of Honshu and is roughly 2.5 hours north-west of Tokyo – making it easily accessible, at least in the summer. Being situated in fairly remote mountains, the winter snow cuts off its access from the only road up to Taiyoji Temple.

Taiyoji Temple is inhabited by a sole monk, Asami (and his five playful dogs). Asami used to be a businessman in the heart of Tokyo, but he found that type of life too busy unfulfilling. He decided he wanted to live in nature and practice his Buddhist faith. After finding the abandoned Taiyoji Temple, he moved to Kyoto where he trained at a monastery for three years. After moving into the Temple, he told how he got the feeling of longing, especially in the winter months and so he decided to open up the temple doors to the public as a guest house and cultural experience.

 

How to get to Taiyoji Temple

As I mentioned, it’s about a 2.5-hour journey from Tokyo by train. From Ikebukuro Station on the outskirts of Tokyo (accessible via Tokyo metro or train), you can take a train to Seibu-Chichibu. You walk a couple hundred meters to a smaller train station, Ohanabatake, and a connection that eventually gets you to Mitsemineguchi Station, the closest one to Taiyoji temple.

Asami offers guests a ride to and from Mitsumineguchi Station if planned ahead of time, and if you arrive before 330pm (check his website for specific times). Mitsumin is a very quiet town (at least on the weekends) so getting transport to Tayoji Temple would be very challenging. If you have a spare 10-15 minutes in Mitsumin waiting for Asami to arrive to pick you up, I suggest checking out the nearby bridge for great views of the river and surrounding mountains, it is also a great way to break up the transit!

It is around a 20-minute drive from the station to the Temple, through beautiful mountains.

If you would like an alternative route to Taiyoji Temple,  from Mitsuminguchi Station, These are the directions directly from Tayoji Temple’s website if you would like to walk the final steps to the temple:

• Take the Chichibuko Nakatsugawa-Line bus
• Get off the bus at the Taiyoji Entrance bus stop
• From the bus stop, turn left over the bridge and follow the road for a 7 km, 2 hours walk

When you arrive at the Ochigawa mountain stream fishing stop, you have the choice to follow the old Edo mountain path which is lined with 13 stone Ojizō-sama markers or continue following the road.

 

How much does it cost to stay at Tayoji Temple?

There is a fee charged to stay the night at this special temple (after all, you are learning a great deal and utilizing supplies/being fed).

The price for the first night is 9000 Yen ($112 AUD). Yes, it is a little pricey, but it’s so worth it! Plus, if you would like to stay more than one night and are willing to help out with some basic temple chores, the second night may be offered at a reduced rate with pre-arranging.

As mentioned before, Asami also offers transport to and from the nearest train station when available. plus the kind monk treated me to an onsen – twice! which he drove to and paid for) – he wouldn’t accept my money for the onsen. This extra experience was offered only due to our group size being so small (3 in total) and the temperature being too cold for the outside onsen at Tayoji Temple.

It was one of the most expensive experiences in Japan for me, and I would have gladly paid 9000 Yen ($112 AUD) per night.

All meals once you get there are included. Dinners and breakfasts are all prepared by Asami. If you’re staying multiple days, lunches are included as well. The typical cuisine of Buddhist monks is shojin ryori, and that is what is served here. All vegan, or “pure vegetarian”, as Asami puts it, it is delicious traditional temple food. Even if you’re not veggie or vegan, like me, it’s hard to not enjoy the dishes made by Asami – he is a great cook!

 

What you will learn at Taiyoji Temple

I stayed 2 nights at Taiyoji Temple and didn’t want to leave. Asami does list a one and 2-day schedule on his website for the Temple, but depending on how busy the man is may affect when or if certain activities are available. For instance, during my visit, Asami left to speak at a ceremony which occurs every month, so the plan had to be shifted a little.

To make the information a little more digestible, I’m going to break up the activities into two days, in the order I did them. Just note, the order may differ for you. If in doubt, Asami is easy to talk to with decent English, so just ask if you have questions.

I think it is important to state that your schedule may differ than mine. I visited in a group of three and there were no other guests. In the summertime, Asami can host many more guests and so he must keep a more rigid schedule. The best way to contact Asami about visiting is via email, and he writes back and in great english.

 

Day 1 at Taiyoji Temple

After the pick up from the train Station in the late afternoon, Asami welcomed my group of three into his home, the “castle in the sky” engraved into a plaque on the front of his house. After playing with his 5 incredibly energetic and curious temple dogs, it was time for the first walk around the temple grounds.

As we arrived late into the afternoon, there wasn’t much time to take in the sights on the first day. We instead spent the time before dinner getting acquainted with our host.

Usually, there is a type of onsen at the temple (this one requires swimwear, even though most other onsens in Japan do not allow swimwear). Being just out of winter, Asami said the pool wasn’t ready. He then offered to drive us to and pay for the local public Otaki onsen, which I was excited for.  I’ve never been naked with many people in a public bath before Japan, especially a monk, but Asami made the whole experience comfortable and I highly recommend giving it a go if he offers.

During the summer months, he is not able to visit this onsen as he is too busy with the temple. This is not usually part of the package he offers guests, so I feel incredibly lucky for the great one-on-one time.

Also, I am quite heavily tattooed and they aren’t easily covered even while clothed. If you are tattooed and plan to visit onsens, always ask before entering. Tattoos, especially those on your back, can be seen as ties to the infamous Yakuza gang and can offend. I never got denied entrance to any onsens I went to over a 3 month period due to tattoos – I was however once asked to cover them up with tape, and frequently got quite a few stares, but I never got denied after asking and pointing at my inked skin.

Dinner is always served with as much sake as you can drink (Japanese Rice Wine) Definitely not something I expected at a temple!. Personally, I’m hit or miss for sake. Some I really enjoyed, others burnt a bit like I imagine petrol would. But Asami had his favourite and, there was plenty of it offered around.

When we had first arrived at the temple, Asami showed us to a large open tatami room in the centre of the temple which would be our sleeping quarters. It was surrounded by walls of mino-washi paper and sliding doors that revealed the mountains and valley below us. We gathered our thick futon mattresses and blankets from another room. They were enough to keep me warm even though it did get quite cold at night – there were still pockets of snow when I visited in March.

 

Day 2 at Tayoji Temple

Asami had told my group that one of the best things to do at the temple was get up early and have a walk for sunrise. “Learn from nature, let nature teach you”, as Asami says. So that’s what I did. This must have been a common activity, as 4 dogs were excitedly waiting at the driveway to go for a morning walk. The short jaunt up to a beautiful view of the valley as the sun pokes its head over the mountains was well worth the sleepy start!

Before breakfast, Asami took us all to the meditation hall where we got our first taste of Zazen meditation. Being a complete novice to any form of meditation, it was much harder to sit there still and in silence than I anticipated. Within minutes my back started to ache and I wasn’t able to focus on nothing at all, but rather random points of interest throughout the meditation hall. Asami told us to raise our hand if we felt our concentration slipping. To “refocus”, 3 sharp smacks on the shoulder with a skinny wooden plank were given, and it surprised me how attentive it suddenly made me. It didn’t hurt, but I definitely felt it! It is all part of the experience, as it defiantly helped me re-focus.

Asami gave a great description of why it’s important to try to achieve “kei” or “nothingness” during meditation. The mind is always so busy, “like a big wave during a typhoon on the ocean”, during meditation, focus on the ocean floor, like at the base of our tummy, “because even during a typhoon, the ocean floor is still and calm”.

After leaving us to practice meditation on our own (although difficult when moved to the outside corridors overlooking the stunning landscapes!), breakfast was announced by three loud knocks on a wooden plank by the main temple’s doors.

It is an unmistakable wood on wood “whack!”.

Once again, shojin ryori is the cuisine served with tea. It never gets old even though the dishes served don’t change up too much. On top of rice and many other smaller dishes, a sweet, honey-like bean was served, similar to the Natto bean in Japan, but much tastier!

This afternoon was dedicated to seeing more of the temple grounds, as Asami had to attend the previously mentioned ceremony. There were a few other small buildings and statues around the complex. Just wandering around and taking in the sights is an experience in itself. However, if you’re looking for a longer walk, the 7km “pilgrimage path” is a great trail to explore even just as an afternoon stroll. It begins at the back of the complex and finally meets up with the road at the bottom of some moss covered stairs opposite a local fishing spot.

This winding trail is beautiful and well worth the effort. Along the way keep an eye out for little stone statues of Buddha, there are 13 in total. This is called the pilgrimage path for a reason, as it is the way monks used to trek to the temple. If you would like to walk it, Asami is more than happy to let you off at the bottom on your first day at the temple, or if you’re staying a few days like us, you may be able to do it as an added activity. In my case, I loved spending the day taking my time walking through the Japanese woods.

When my group returned, we had another tasty meal of shojin ryori and then it was time for sutra copying. Sutra copying is the act of writing out a Buddhist script, in this case, the ‘Heart Sutra’.  Since my group was a total novice at kanji (a form of Japanese writing), we traced out the entire Sutra, symbol by symbol, calligraphy style.

Asami told us to “focus on the tip of your brush,” this is how this form of meditation strengthens the belief of what is written. It is a great way to relax, although my calligraphy skills are rusty, I still found some sense of peacefulness about writing symbols despite having a limited idea of what they meant. It takes 1-2 hours to finish the heart sutra (depending on how fast you write) but take your time, this is no race. Asami was also very encouraging when looking at your product!

Once again, our shojin ryori dinner was served with a great deal of sake and conversation with Asami. After dinner, Asami brought up the idea of the Otaki onsen again, and I was all for it!

 

Day 3 at the Beautiful Tayoji Temple

The final day at Taiyoji Temple started by going to the smaller temple building beside the meditation hall where we sat on cushions with our hands in prayer position while Asami performed a sermon for us, complete with singing, drumming and other bells and instruments. A very spiritual experience. We then did some Zazen meditation again before breakfast.

We said goodbye to 5 ever-energetic dogs and piled into Asami’s car and set off to the train station.

Asami even drove us to a train station around an hour away. This saved us around 440 Yen and cut quite a wait off our trip time, once again, this isn’t included in the price to stay, it just highlights the generosity of this man.

 

Taiyoji Temple info and tips

• As I mentioned, reservations are the only way to stay at Taiyoji Temple. If you would like to stay, the best way to get in touch with Asami is through telephone +81 (0) 494-54-0296.
• Ikebukuro train station is one of the busiest train stations in the entire world, so make sure you plan ahead and leave yourself plenty of time to navigate the chaotic halls.
• Japanese Yen is the local currency, and for $1 AUD, you’ll get around 80 Yen.
• Booking is done through the Taiyoji Temple website, and over email is the easiest way to reach Asami, though there is a telephone you can also reach him at. He is a busy man, especially in summer, so book ahead of time. You must reserve your spot to be able to stay here.
• Loose clothes for meditation are also a great idea.
• I spoke a few times about onsens in Japan, I think it is worth noting that these bathhouses are sex-segregated.

 

Highlights of Taiyoji Temple stay

• Learning about Buddhism through Asami – one of the kindest and gentle people I’ve met.
• Stunning mountain views – make sure you get up for at least one sunrise!
• Boredom doesn’t exist when there are 5 playful dogs with unlimited energy!

 

 

Have you visited Taiyoji Temple? Do you agree that it’s the best Buddhist temple stay in Japan? I’d love to hear what temple you think should be #1! Tell me about your experiences below!

 

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