A Heavenly Night's Rest

If a bed, fashionably minimalist decor and an exquisite meal for less than $90 a night sounds like a divine miracle in Japan, that's because it is — in a manner of speaking. Many of the country's monasteries and temples provide reasonably[an error occurred while processing this directive] priced accommodation in adjoining inns known as shukubo, and cost-conscious travelers — as well as those seeking an interesting alternative to hotels — would do well to book a night in one. The monasteries and temple precincts of Honshu's sacred mountains, such as Mount Koya, Mount Shosha and Mount Hiei, all provide lodgings (Mount Koya alone has more than 50 shukubo), as do the hillside temples surrounding the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara, where well-trodden pilgrim trails make finding shukubo relatively easy.

Levels of comfort vary. In many shukubo, a thin futon, a chaff-filled pillow and nothing but paper doors between you and the next snoring pilgrim are the norm. But others can be surprisingly refined, with delicate flower arrangements, swirling calligraphy on the walls and views of carp ponds. Bathrooms and toilet facilities are typically communal. So are morning prayers. To rise at dawn for an hour-long ceremony may not be everyone's path to enlightenment, but guests are expected to attend. For good measure, some temples offer classes in meditation, calligraphy, flower arranging and vegetarian cooking. Opportunities to sample the latter, in fact, are typically the highlights of any shukubo stay. Known as shojin-ryori, this unique Buddhist cuisine is prepared by the monks using seasonal ingredients; no one minds if you whisper up a carafe of warmed sake, either.

Your bill can range from $60-90 per person per night, with breakfast and dinner included. Tipping is not necessary but reservations are. A growing number of shukubo offer online-booking facilities in English — try visiting shukubo.jp/eng.

Here, meanwhile, are three of our favorites:
ENGYOJI KAIKAN: The Engyoji temple complex — located just outside Himeji, four hours by train from Tokyo — might be recognizable if you've seen The Last Samurai, scenes from which were filmed in the courtyard of its daikodo, or Great Hall. The rooms at Engyoji, tel: (81-79) 266 3240, are rather less grand but pleasant nonetheless, simply furnished with a futon and an urn of green tea. There is no dawn ceremony but private meditation sessions can be arranged.

RENGEJO-IN: This beautiful temple, tel: (81-73) 656 2233, is located atop Mount Koya — a place of pilgrimage for over a thousand years, home to Japan's oldest Buddhist sect (the Shingon-shu) and a World Heritage Site. You can reach it via a 90-minute train ride from Osaka, followed by a cable-car ascent. The 48-room shukubo is famous for its tofu and lavish temple altar. Meditation is held twice daily with instruction in English and Japanese. "The time it takes for a stick of incense to burn is the amount of time you should meditate each day," advises the head priest, Ryusho Soeda.

DAISHIN-IN: Warlord Hosokawa Masamoto built this temple in 1479 as part of the sprawling Myoshinji temple complex — a group of 47 religious buildings located just 15 minutes by train west of Kyoto station. The shukubo, tel: (81-75) 461 5714, mostly provides lodging for visiting priests but lay guests are welcome. The temple's garden, with its swirling sands and rocks, may well encourage you to extend your meditation beyond the usual morning session.