2-Star Hotels in Koya

It’s hard to rate this location as it’s not like anything I’ve experienced before. So a good thing to keep in mind before you go is to set your expectations. This is not a hotel so you won’t get hotel amenities. We didn’t have a private bathroom, there are limited plugs in the room, you have to wear slippers inside, limited communal shower times, and you sleep on futons on the floor. What you do get is a wonderful experience: the optional morning prayer (the whole experience was 1 h 20 min), vegetarian dinner and breakfast (some kids might not like but adventurous souls will enjoy), peaceful surroundings, old architecture, easy walk to all major sites. I would totally recommend this place for a night in koyosan. I think one night is perfect to get the full magic of the place.

At the gate of Koyasan, take the bus at the 6th station of the mountain and get off at the post office. The opposite side of the entrance is the entrance to the Jinsan Sanyuan, and it will take five minutes. In the courtyard check-in, the monk's English is not very good, communication is difficult, and only words can be used for communication. Originally at the time of Ctrip booking, I directed this separate shower room with separate bathroom, but told us after the check-in, or the public bathroom, the room only has a separate bathroom, which is different from the one shown on Ctrip. After checking in in the afternoon, I went to the altar on the altar and rushed back to dinner at 5:30. Dinner is delivered to the room, vegetarian food, you need to eat more rice to eat, but it is very special. After the meal, the monks took the tableware away and laid the bedding on the tatami at night. I feel very comfortable and sleepy. At 5:30 in the morning, I got up and took part in the morning class at the 6:30 temple. I was so solemn and victorious that I felt some mysterious power. In the morning class, the bedding was received in the closet, and the breakfast was set up. I ate three bowls of rice and packed my bags. I asked for check-out before 9:00. We left our luggage in the monastery and asked to take it before twelve o'clock. We arrived at the baggage at 12:30. In the morning, the Aozhiyuan, Jingangfeng Temple and Lingbao Hall turned a big circle, and the Aozhiyuan lost its way, and walked nearly two kilometers. The trip to Koyasan purifies the soul, which makes me understand the development history of Dongmi and strengthens the determination to learn Dongmi.

After booking a room with a bathroom, a monk took us to a semi-underground room. It was so cold. He showed us the shower and bathroom in the corridor. We told him that we paid more to book a room with a bathroom, and he took us to find an old monk. Unless we were mistaken, none of their rooms had a bathroom. I obviously spent hundreds more just to have a bathroom in the room, and it was clearly written on the order. He asked me to contact Ctrip at his expense, and he also contacted the agent. It took about an hour and a half to figure this out. He took us back to the original room and opened the locked door (at first we asked him what the small door was, and he said it was a maintenance room). There was a dirty toilet and a sink that couldn't be smaller. Anyway, there are no hotels on Mount Koya. If you want to stay, it’s a shukubo in the temple. They are expensive and have poor conditions, so think twice.

I stayed here June 6th and 7th 2024 I have stayed at dozens of places in Japan over three months, from temples to hotels, guest houses, and hostels. I am not some person who has only stayed at top hotels then got upset when not knowing what to expect elsewhwere. This was the worst experience BY FAR. There is an extremely rude monk running the place. ***** bath only, which is not listed on the reservation sites. To make matters worse, it is only open for four hours a day in the evening. Want a morning shower or bath? Too bad, it is only open 4 hours in the evening. Want a clean bath? Too bad. There was a giant millipede swimming around in the bath. When I tried to show the monk and didnt take my slippers off in the right place of the bathroom he yelled at me. SHOES HERE NOW! I tried to say look please there is a huge bug (in Japanese) and he yelled again SHOES HERE NOW! NOW! I have no idea how such a rude person became Buddhist, he clearly does not follow his own religion. In every Japanese accommodation there is at bare minimum communal hot water for tea and a microwave. Not here though. When I asked about it the monk acted like I was crazy and gave me an attitude. He left the office at 3:30 and disappeared despite a 5pm closing time. Need info? Too bad.

We made our way to Koyasan with our small group of 5 plus our guide, via a maze of trains, busy stations and platforms, a furnicular up the mountain and finally a bus to our temple stay. It was cold weather, even though it’s April. There were still a number of cherry trees blossoming- so pretty. The temple was attractive and comfortable ( if you count sleeping on the floor, sitting on the floor for meals comfortable!). Our room was heated but the rest of the temple was not so it was cool walking to the onsen and the meal room. Our room had the futon, pillows ( very uncomfortable), a low table, small TV, wifi, hanging space. Our evening meal and breakfast were traditional Japanese vegetarian and interesting food. We purchased sake for a very reasonable price with the evening meal. Beer was also available. The onsen was a good cultural experience ( and even better because I was there alone!) Our accommodation was very close to the Okunoin cemetery which is an absolute must see.

There are many shokubos in Koyasan. If you don't understand Japanese, you could book through one through the shokubo association and they will just randomly assign one to you or one of those travel hotel websites (with limited selections). I stumbled upon Komyo-in website which has an OK english translation page and let me book direct. Most of the reviews are on google and i think it deserves one here. Communication: Mostly through google translate and it worked fine. The hospitality was great. Everything was well organised. Nothing was too much of a hassle. I stayed here for 2 nights. I wanted to do the cemetery night tour and the monk told me that he would wait for me and not lock the door if i returned pass the curfew hrs (9pm). I didn't think it would be a problem but they didn't want me to worry. Location: The temple is located just behind the Eko-in, where the night tour starts. It is also located near the bus-stop if you are coming from the koyasan cable station. Food: I ordered the breakfast and dinner on both nights. There were delicious and adequate for a standard portion. They have the larger portion selection. Room: Spacious as a solo traveler. They provided me a gas heater and it was warm enough when i was in the room. Tea and cookies were complimentary. Clearly, you have to utilise the public bath and toilet. Bath time was given for each gender. Atmosphere: It might be like the big temple but i really quite liked the small temple setting. I also participated the morning ritual one morning. Highly recommended.

Stay at a traditional temple lodge. Mt. Koya's oldest Tsurukame (crane and tortoise) style 'Karesansui' garden (known as a rock garden) is a must see!

Especially different accommodation experience. Surrounded by monasteries and being in a Buddhist resort, it is awe-inspiring. A series of activities such as meditation and chanting are arranged in the temple. Follow the monks in the monastery to do Buddhist deeds at the prescribed time. The food is vegetarian, very light and full. The door of the room is unlocked, but there is a safe in the room. Public toilets and public baths are fairly convenient.

It wasn't the most pleasant experience considering that the males n females had to share toilets and that some other rooms had private toilets n bath instead. And also the fact that the walls are super thin hence whomever is connected to your room if their loud or they don't like your voice volume than you might get kicked to the curb. It's a very frustrating experience for sure since it tests one's patience n ability to let go. It's training for the customers n monks alike. I met a Japanese friend here whom shared with me how rude the monks and the staff were to one another n I think that shows the quality of this place however we were pretty lucky as there was a male who spoke mandarin n a male who spoke English both quite well in this place n though the mandarin speaker was quite condescending towards the other monks, the English speaker was really nice n patient overall. He helped me out a lot since we couldn't communicate with the others n seemed to be the only customers that spoke English whom booked this place by ourselves, the others around seemed to have a guide n were usually in groups. It's a unique experience n I recommend just staying for one night or going to the other temples. I went for the ajikan meditation at eko in temple n the service n cleanliness was on another level for sure. The food here was also really simple. Also a must see are the tomb area n the walk to kobold daishi temple. As a sensitive person, I felt the overwhelming love n presence and the cleanse of my heart of this amazing soul over there. To me, that was worth it. Remember to clean yourself with the water out front before going in.... and of course to the amazing fateful friendship that occurred for us with the jap-********* couple we met. It was the next fav of mine after the time spent in nara visitor center. That was truly magickal n how I wished we stayed longer there. But all was good cause the way I planned this trip made it so that we would have this fateful encounter to the end of our trip.

It was a very comfortable and wonderful shukubo. The correspondence of the receptionist is good. The care is also wonderful. Access is very good as it is in front of Kongobuji Temple. Convenient to go anywhere. The food is delicious. The morning work experience was also a very good experience. The story of the priest was also very nice, and he spoke in English to foreign customers. I think all the participants had a good experience. I was able to take pictures freely inside the temple, and the priest was good at chatting, so I had fun and had them take pictures together. I think everyone in this temple has a wonderful personality. I was able to eat in my room and relax. The bathhouse explained the rules with illustrations written in English and Japanese to foreigners. The way to wear yukata was also drawn. It was posted in an easy-to-understand place, so I think foreign customers will read it properly. It was a nice shukubo with consideration and hospitality. I definitely want to go again. Check-out is 10:00, so I was grateful that the shops and temples were open. I really recommend this place.