Temple Hotel Kannonin — Hotel in Kiryu

We had booked 2 nights at the "hotel", but it was a rather disappointing experience, I would go as far as to say it is a tourist trap at that price and with this kind of reviews that have been written before. The idea itself is nice (stay at a temple and support it), but the execution was terrible.

It was the first time I experienced zero hospitality in Japan, which is an achievement by itself. There was no one there to greet us at all (the door was left ajar), which is acceptable in a „air bnb“ style accomodation, but you always hear people around you, who do „things“, but you never see them nor talk to them. Then there are "keep quiet" signs all around you. Because of that alone you feel more like an intruder, not like a guest. It feels more like a cheap guest room that coincidentally is on the premises of a temple, not part of it.

When we arrived (in winter) the rooms were cold, no one bothered to turn on the heating before our arrival. The old climate control took ages to bring a bit of warmth. In addition there was a kerosene heater with a hideous smell that tells you that it is not safe to use it without venting the room, but that is written only in Japanese anyway. The outdoor bath, which looks "free flowing" on the pictures, it was shut, you need to heat the water by yourself, but you propably do not want to do so anyway because it is right beside the street (which is just behind the wooden fence). By the way, do not trust the glamorous pictures anway. The bed? Does not exist, you have to make your own futon bed. The romantic light in the garden? Does not exist (or was switched off when we have been there). The food? Well, the breakfast (we only had that) was a mediocre bento box (even the rice was hard) at a premium price.

We decided to leave a day early, but the place is so remote we did not know how to get away (we do not speak Japanese, so calling a taxi on the phone was not an option). There is an "emergency" number written all over the place, but no one picked up the phone or called back; I guess they did not even realize we left (on foot, that is ...)

I don't know, maybe it is still the place for you. Maybe you are religious, then the place might be something for you, if you have any connections to the local deities. Or you do not like people in general (and yourself, just in case), then the Spartan way of this accomodation might be...

It's a lovely place. Its so quiet, peaceful and serene. The dining area next to the garden is absolutely beautiful. The kitchen is well equipped and you practically don't need to leave the building with her right groceries. There's bicycles to use in the car park across the main gate. But even without it, it's only 20 mins walk to Kiryu station. There's a mega donki around there where you can get everything you need.

Although there wasn't a regular check-in staff (of course as it's not a hotel), the monks were friendly and helpful when we had problems receiving our access code from Expedia.

Overall it was a delight to stay here. Wake up at 6am to participate in the morning prayers. Do some sutra copying and calligraphy in mid morning. Soak in an outdoor tub mid noon. Chill out by the garden in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat, we wished we do this for longer. Our 3 nights felt...

It's a lovely place. Its so quiet, peaceful and serene. The dining area next to the garden is absolutely beautiful. The kitchen is well equipped and you practically don't need to leave the building with her right groceries. There's bicycles to use in the car park across the main gate. But even without it, it's only 20 mins walk to Kiryu station. There's a mega donki around there where you can get everything you need.||Although there wasn't a regular check-in staff (of course as it's not a hotel), the monks were friendly and helpful when we had problems receiving our access code from Expedia.||Overall it was a delight to stay here. Wake up at 6am to participate in the morning prayers. Do some sutra copying and calligraphy in mid morning. Soak in an outdoor tub mid noon. Chill out by the garden in the afternoon. Rinse and repeat, we wished we do this for longer. Our 3 nights felt...