Sojiin

The Shokubo is a unique experience! We all enjoyed our stay. The rooms are not large but clean, great sleep on futons. The monks and the staffs were all kind and very welcoming. Though we have booked rooms from two booking sites, they kindly arranged all of our 4 rooms in the same quarter, next to each other and we felt very private. Thank you so much. The Shojin Ryori vegetarian dinner and the breakfast were superb! They were perfectly crafted in a special traditional manner and all were delicious, served in a calm and cozy temple dining room. One of us joined the morning prayers and got to meet the abbott who also shared the history of Soji-in. They had an English interpreter for foreigners joining the session. The shared bathrooms were nice, clean and quiet at night, with facilities similar to a basic Japanese onsens, just that the water is not the natural mineral water. The location is very nice, quiet yet almost at the Center of the town in-between Kongobuji temple and Danjo Garan. In all, a lovely and special temple lodging we all very much enjoyed.

Exceptional experience - we've thoroughly prepared for the trip and knew what to expect from temple lodging, being ready to manage our expectations, however it wasn't necessary as the accommodation provided excellent service! Starting from an amazing michelin-level dinner, relaxing experience in a well-maintained and completely empty (at 20:00) onsen, cozy and warm room equipped with toiletries, and finishing with a morning prayer where an english-speaking (!) monk (sorry, completely forgot the name, but i believe it was Patrick?) provided translation for a conversation with the head monk. Cherry on top - unlike all other temples, in Sojiin they didn't remove our futons during breakfast, so we had plenty of time to nap before check-out. It just feels like they have taken into account all the feedback provided by the guests and responded to their needs!

Everything was lovely. It was a very peaceful way for us to finish our trip to Japan. I loved to baths, it was excellent. Recommend everyone walk around the rear landscaped gardens.

Sojiin temple was beautiful. I had a lovely room with a garden view. The room was clean, quiet, and spacious. It included a private toilet and sink. The bath was a shared, gender-separated onsen-style facility. Meals were served in the guest dining area. Dinner was fabulous, with attentive service and delicious, beautifully presented shojin ryori. Breakfast was also wonderful. While you are having dinner, staff will come into your room and set up the futon. (You sleep on the floor, Japanese style.) The location of the temple was good, allowing me to attend the Okunoin night tour. I informed staff I would attend the night tour and they had dinner ready at 5:30pm for me so that I could leave right after eating. The meeting place for the night tour was in front of Ekoin temple, which is a 15 minute walk from Sojiin. After the night tour, I was able to make it back to the Sojiin before the 9:00 pm curfew. The next morning I also attended the morning service at Sojiin, right before breakfast. Staff were friendly and provided excellent service. It was a very nice, memorable stay.

Souji-in is placed in the mountain village within the main area of Koyasan that has a rich history rooted in Buddhism, which is centuries old. 117 temples are located in the village of Koyasan with around 900 residents. Koyasan is very walkable, and from the edge of Okunoin cemetery to the main temples located on the other end it takes about 30-40 minutes of walking. We spent our time walking around seeing the many temples that are stationed there. Our stay in Souji was wonderful. We had a spacious room with two sleeping areas. The rooms don't have many chairs as one sits on the tatami mats with back rests or pillows. You also sleep on Japanese futon on the mats that are set out and put away each night and day by the monks. Although our group was only 4 people we could have fit many more in our area. Heaters (and presumably AC) are in the rooms (we were there in early spring), but once you leave the room, including in most of the temple areas there isn't climate controlled. A traditional vegan Buddhist dinner and breakfast was included with the stay. I was worried that the meal wouldn't be filling, but we were very satisfied after both meals as they include many vegetable proteins, mostly bean based (eg soy) proteins. I personally felt that the meals provided were some of the best that we ate in Japan and I felt that many five star restaurants couldn't do better. We attended the morning prayers, which very enlightening. Be aware to dress for outside weather and there is limited climate control in the prayer area. An English speaking monk spoke to us after the service to answer questions. The head priest of the temple kindly signed our goshuincho and demonstrated his excellent calligraphy skills. The price is higher per night than most of our other lodging during our stay in Japan, but given the historic nature of the Souji-in, the excellent food and location within Koyasan village we found that this was a high value stay and worth the cost.