Hon'gaku-in Temple (Pilgrim's Lodging) — Hotel in Koya

I stayed in standard Japanese-style room, no toilet or bathroom, only a sleeping space. There was television, security box, air conditioner in the room but no room key, so the monk suggested me to put valuable things in security box. The guest building I stayed was rectangular shape with Japanese garden in the middle, so all the rooms there faced the garden.||||You need to decide dinner time between 5.30PM or 6.30PM. Dinner was vegetarian meal served in the room. The food quantity was enough to fill your stomach if you eat all the dishes. The taste was a lot better than I expected. The monk prepared the futon right after we finished the dinner an hour later. ||||The public bath was opened until 9PM and did not open in the morning. You need to bring towel from your own room when taking a bath. Shower cream, shampoo, condition were already prepared in the public bath. You need to clean your body before entering the hot bath.||||There was many western-style toilets near the rooms and was very clean which maybe because there were not many tourists on that date. ||||The temple main entrance was close in the early of the night but you can use a small door beside the main entrance 24 hours.||||The morning prayer started at 6AM and took almost and hour but you can stay in the room if you don't want to wake up early. Breakfast started at 7AM and was vegetarian meal served in the room. ||||Check-out time is 10AM. The monk was very friendly but can speak only basic English. However, that was not a problem for me because I can also speak Japanese. It was overall better...

I stayed in standard Japanese-style room, no toilet or bathroom, only a sleeping space. There was television, security box, air conditioner in the room but no room key, so the monk suggested me to put valuable things in security box. The guest building I stayed was rectangular shape with Japanese garden in the middle, so all the rooms there faced the garden.||||You need to decide dinner time between 5.30PM or 6.30PM. Dinner was vegetarian meal served in the room. The food quantity was enough to fill your stomach if you eat all the dishes. The taste was a lot better than I expected. The monk prepared the futon right after we finished the dinner an hour later. ||||The public bath was opened until 9PM and did not open in the morning. You need to bring towel from your own room when taking a bath. Shower cream, shampoo, condition were already prepared in the public bath. You need to clean your body before entering the hot bath.||||There was many western-style toilets near the rooms and was very clean which maybe because there were not many tourists on that date. ||||The temple main entrance was close in the early of the night but you can use a small door beside the main entrance 24 hours.||||The morning prayer started at 6AM and took almost and hour but you can stay in the room if you don't want to wake up early. Breakfast started at 7AM and was vegetarian meal served in the room. ||||Check-out time is 10AM. The monk was very friendly but can speak only basic English. However, that was not a problem for me because I can also speak Japanese. It was overall better...

Fabulous stay, exactly what I had hoped it would be. If you are reading the other reviews and getting concerned then don't. This is exactly what it should be. Easy to find from the bus stop and the staff were so friendly and eager to chat. Check in was very easy and my room was lovely, very simple but as you would expect. The bathing area was scrupulously clean with nice soap, shampoo and conditioner. The bathing is all communal and the toilets were shared but they were both western and Japanese toilets available. The food is a mix of hot and cold as is traditional for temple food. A lot of tofu, veggies and pickles but all lovely. It's simple food, don't expect Michelin star meals. It's served in the dining room, on the floor on a little raised tray and a cushion to sit on. I'm not sure if it was intentional but they seemed to manage to seat solo travellers speaking the same language together which made for a lovely atmosphere. There is the opportunity to go to prayers in the morning which I would suggest going to at least once.

The WiFi was good and I had no problems with the heating. Just need to turn it on and adjust the heating as required. As a tip make sure all the screens are closed, despite only being a thin sheet of paper they make a big difference over the window to keep the room cosy and warm. I would close them before dinner, pop the heater on during dinner and turn it off over night so I didn't get too hot.

I'm summary: I'd go again in a heartbeat, it's a temple lodge not a 5 star hotel and it's not fair to...