Hi,

I do not know how to go about making a booking for a temple stay in Koyasan. Please help!

Also, which temples offer the most tranquil and atmospheric surroundings for such a stay? Any input on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I have used Japanese Guest Houses with success several times. They are responsive and helpful if you need it. See their website here:

http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/d...koya/index.htm

Others who may have used someone else might reply but if I were you I would call or email now for a date in April

Aloha!

notice the guest rating, guest comments and guest photo sections of the different ryokans for info

a little more info if you want to try booking direct

http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/index.html

http://www.shukubo.jp/eng/05_syukubo.html

bkmk

We stayed at Eko-in for three nights in April 08 and loved it. The food was excellent (and I am not a veggie!) the place itself was very tranquil but it was only a 25% full. Highlights were the dawn service and the English speaking guide service we used which was excellent. This was one of teh many highlights of our stay in Japan

A link to our blog with some photos:

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...8720/tpod.html

Hi,

How did you make your booking for Eko-in? I did not see it listed in japanese guesthouse site.

Thanks.

I know the question is for Crellston but you can email them

ekoin @ mbox dot co dot jp

or have the koyasan tourist association make a reservation for you. Use the website I left earlier and they will gladly get in touch with ekoin for you

Clive's side of the world will be up soon so I am sure he will let you know how he booked them

Aloha!

I was very pleased with Shojoshin-in, which you can book through japaneseguesthouses.com

Also, you might consider visiting Okunoin at either dawn or dusk - very atmospheric!

Enjoy!

I booked via www.japanhotels.net . I dit try japanguesthouses.com on hawaiiantraveller's advice but did not get a response (I later found out that my email got stuck in their spam folder). Good advice from kja - Okonuin is spectacular during the day and very spooky at night!
Depending upon where you are travelling from, you should be aware that it can take a while to get to Koyasan - I think we changed trains 4 times from Kyoto - but it is a spetcaular rail trip. I am envious!

Hi All,

Thanks for all the help. I managed to get throught to both Shojoshin-in and Eko-in. Eko-in has a Hanare with private bath/toilet available. Shojoshin-in has only a regular Japanese style roon with no private bath available (since it is only one night's stay, this may not be that much of an issue).

I need your help in choosing between the two temple options. Which temple offers an authentic, tranquil experience. Which temple has a better location in terms of proximity to Okonuin. I noticed that Frommer's has a good write up for both temples but gives 1 star foe Eko-in and 3 stars for Shojoshin-in.

Please help!

I did try to book shojoshin-in but it was full hence the reason for choosing Eko-in. Both are close to Okonuin (i.e. a couple of minutes walk). We did not go into Shojoshin-in but it did look quite busy (I presume it is popular for a very good reason).
As for the lack of a private bath etc.at eko-in, we did not find this a problem as the place was not busy (plus I feel the communal bath thing is part of the whole experience. We were there last April (beautiful blossom!) and with the exception of one or two coach parties at a couple of temples the whole town seemed very quiet. If you go at the time of one of the festivals, I Imaging it would be alot busier. Personally, I found Koyasan to be one of the most peaceful places on our trip.

You should of course be aware that most temples have only paper walls and you could end up with noisy neighbours

My room at Shojoshinin did not have a private bath, but it did have a sink area. I was extremely pleased with my time there - really, everything was wonderful. I can't compare it to any other temple because it is the only one at which I stayed. Shojoshinin is next to Okunoin. Hope that helps!