Consider the Shukubo

Sleep Like a Monk in a Japanese Buddhist Temple

shukubo: a Buddhist temple in Japan that hosts travelers overnight

In our never-ending search for the unusual travel experience, we offer you the temple stay. One of the best things about traveling in Japan is getting the opportunity to visit thousands of historic temples and shrines that lay scattered across the country. Now, visitors have the chance to make their experience even more memorable because of a recently introduced service that enables people to spend the night at hundreds of temples for the first time ever.

Called Terahaku (meaning temple stay), the new project allows travelers to book temples online (though, of course, we suggest you call us to make arrangements). Traditionally, temples in Japan have welcomed travelers visiting for religious reasons. Pilgrims have long enjoyed retreating to temple stays for days or more, spending time praying, copying religious scripture, hiking, and meditating. Today, the temple stay is appealing to a new demographic of travelers. Open to both practitioners and non-practitioners alike, shukubo offer travelers an excellent chance to experience the simple, austere lifestyle of Buddhist monks while staying at a functioning temple.

Depending on each specific temple, guests may be able to take part in a number of unique cultural experiences, including meditation, tracing traditional Buddhist imagery, making handwritten copies of sutras, attending morning services, and sampling shojin ryori—the famous traditional vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks. Konyaku (devil’s tongue jelly) anyone?

Temple lodgings are typically simple, traditional Japanese-style rooms featuring tatami mat floors and sliding doors (fusuma). Bedding usually takes the form of a futon, which is spread out on the tatami floor during the night. Gas heaters and heated tables (kotatsu) provide warmth in winter.

Fellow travelers tell us that, regardless of religious or cultural background, the experience  of the shukubo can be transformative. The moment you remove your shoes at the entrance, a sense of peace descends upon you and lingers during your stay. And, just maybe, you can take some of it with you when you leave.