Souji-in Temple — Hotel in Koya

We had a lovely room but found sleeping on the provided mats too ||hard for us. We also had language difficulties as we weren't able ||to locate where we were to have dinner. It was clearly through one ||of the sliding door but which one was a mystery. We noticed the ||pile of foot gear and heard voices but were reluctant to slide open ||doors in search of the location. Mystery solved when a monk finally||emerged and was able to assist us. As the initial course was being||served we attempted to request forks without success as our server ||spoke no English. He smiled and was polite but had no ability to ||understand us. We wound up using the serving pieces as our ||personal silverware. We came to learn that English isn't spoken by ||most of the staff so it was fortunate that our guide learned that the ||front gate is locked at a particular time and shared that info with us||before leaving for her overnight facility. We can only imagine how many||guests have found themselves locked out if they return after the curfew. . ||The electronic devices in the room are all in Japanese of course which ||made it quite difficult to easliy alter the settings. Bottom line is that ||while we enjoyed our stay it was not without its challenges. Therefore,||we wouldn't recommend this facility to anyone who didn't speak ||Japanese. In our opinion, while the staff is very polite, they are not ||really interested in the guests. Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh but ||it's our assessment based on our...

We had a lovely room but found sleeping on the provided mats too ||hard for us. We also had language difficulties as we weren't able ||to locate where we were to have dinner. It was clearly through one ||of the sliding door but which one was a mystery. We noticed the ||pile of foot gear and heard voices but were reluctant to slide open ||doors in search of the location. Mystery solved when a monk finally||emerged and was able to assist us. As the initial course was being||served we attempted to request forks without success as our server ||spoke no English. He smiled and was polite but had no ability to ||understand us. We wound up using the serving pieces as our ||personal silverware. We came to learn that English isn't spoken by ||most of the staff so it was fortunate that our guide learned that the ||front gate is locked at a particular time and shared that info with us||before leaving for her overnight facility. We can only imagine how many||guests have found themselves locked out if they return after the curfew. . ||The electronic devices in the room are all in Japanese of course which ||made it quite difficult to easliy alter the settings. Bottom line is that ||while we enjoyed our stay it was not without its challenges. Therefore,||we wouldn't recommend this facility to anyone who didn't speak ||Japanese. In our opinion, while the staff is very polite, they are not ||really interested in the guests. Perhaps this sounds a bit harsh but ||it's our assessment based on our...

I recently stayed one night at this monastery cum pilgrim's lodgings located in the centre of Koyasan village and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As mentioned this is not exactly a hotel, rather is provides accommodation for pilgrims travelling through the region while visiting the many shrines in Koyasan and further afield. Foreign visitors are also welcome to experience Souji-in. Our group had traditional tatami mat rooms which were huge compared to the compact (read tiny) hotels we were used to in Osaka and Kyoto. It's very much a leave your shoes at the door sort of place, with stunningly polished floors, fabulous multi-course vegan food, plenty of alcohol if you want it, and a peaceful atmosphere. No rattling of bellboy's trolleys, little traffic and absolute silence at night. I had a room overlooking the front of the property and the road (very quiet apart from the wind blowing through the cedar forest over the road) while other in my group were lucky to have private garden views at the back. All rooms had a separate toilet and washbasin, but no shower - there are public male and female baths available. Some of the group also attended the Buddhist ceremony here at 6am - with good reports. It's an expensive place to stay but the relative solitude, lovely food, huge rooms and history made it an unforgettable experience and one that's quite unique to the region. Highly...