TEMPLE HOTEL TAKAYAMA ZENKOJI

The common area was comfortable and the bathroom was well equipped. It was a unique experience to stay at a temple.

The view overlooking the garden.

Be sure to get a garden view room.

We had the absolute best stay at the temple hotel. A truly unique and incredible experience. The staff found out we were on our honeymoon and printed us a card congratulating us and gifted us a bottle of sake. What an amazing way to welcome guests, I dare you to try to find that level of service at any other hotel worldwide! We can't wait to return to stay at the hotel again one day!

That we don't live at this place!

This was such a wonderful experience. Waking up in the morning to meditate, spending time in the temple in the afternoon. The room was very comfortable and had a modern heater and the bed had a warming sheet. There are some great activities you can add on to your stay too. The location is fantastic and so close to some of the best restaurants and experiences in Takayama.

Loved everything about it!

Very engaging staff, excellent activities, excellent location.

This is one of the most unique places we have ever stated! The staff made us feel welcome and took time to offer us tea and share the history of the temple. The experiences they offered were so cool - our kids learned how to make onigiri and miso soup, and we participated in the meditation session. When we almost got stuck in town due to a canceled train, they offered to let us stay an additional night. We would stay here again in a heartbeat.

Nothing. It was peaceful, lovely, and welcoming.

Beautiful location and place. Very fun to live in a temple; near the old city center. Staff was approachable and our entire stay worked nicely. It was fun to parttake in a buddhist ceremony one morning as well.

The room was very small and not like the ones in the picture. The pictures of the "normal rooms" in the hotel are in the backyard, with views to a small garden. Not all rooms are like this, and ours was relatively cheap and disappointing nearby the entrace and towards the road.

What an unbelievable experience—truly one for the soul. I still have to pinch myself every time I think about staying in an actual temple, where our room opened right into the main prayer area. The beauty was beyond words: majestic, serene, and humbling in every moment. From attending a powerful prayer service and joining a meditation session to sipping miso soup and diving into traditional cooking, every detail felt sacred. We even took part in an underground immersion. Stay of a lifetime.

Nothing. But for whatever reason, I did think there would be monks staying at this temple with us. The only monk I saw throughout the day was the one who did our prayer and meditation session. He was outstanding.

We thought we were booking a room with 2 single beds and a kitchenette, but we got 3 rooms: one with a low table and comfortable cushions, along with adjacent kitchenette; another with a lounge chair and lots of large comfy pillows on tatami mats, and the top floor--an open loft--with two double beds and another lounge chair. The decor was a combination of Japanese minamalism and 20th C modern--tres chic. The staff couldn't be nicer and my friend and I attended a Budhist ceremony, followed by a meditation class and then about 40 minutes of copying the Sutra. The priest who led the Budhist ceremony and meditation session spoke very good English and was excellent at communicating the central tenets of Budhism as well as placing the religion in the broader context of East/West cultural differences. I'm not religious but found this introduction to Budhism and Japanese culture fascinating. The hotel is very centrally located and the town itself charming, with traditional architecture, many restaurants and boutiques; and 15 minutes away by cab is the Hida Folk Village, which is not to be missed. I highly recommend staying at this temple/hotel.

The staff was extremely friendly and helpful. We did the morning prayer service, meditation, rice ball/miso soup experience and kimono experience. All were great! The room was new and quite large. It was wonderful to have a washer/dryer in the room with provided laundry soap.

Absolutely beautiful location. The young lady who greeted us was wonderful and the Buddhist monk was so insightful we really enjoyed our conversation with him. Will definitely return in the future.

All good

Staff very friendly and helpful, clean room and shared bathroom/bath. We had to reserve our bath times but this was no problem and everyone shared the space well. We participated in the morning prayer session and also we did meditation session which was a great experience and something we will not forget.

Our room (Sakura) had a bad ‘eggy fart’ smell. This was explained by the kind staff who worked there as they had done a renovation of the tetami (flooring) and the smell is the glue used to stick the mats. However it was not a big deal as after a few minutes you could not smell anything

The room was comfortable, shared facilities were clean. Enjoyed taking part in the prayers and meditation in the morning after my stay

Overall experience. Morning prayer, meditation, the interaction of the staff with us.

All good

It’s central and clean.

It’s was not possible to see or access the Japanese garden. Only from dedicated rooms. Totally disappointing. The Zen—Meditation was also not available. Finally just a simple room with milky windows. Only access to the temple, totally overpriced with 250 USD with no breakfast and shared bathroom. A Ryokan would cost 1/3 of the price, even with breakfast.

The temple is very nice. We also visited the morning service

The heating system

We absolutely loved the place. This was actually once of the places that we really want to come back to sometime in the future. Everything was perfect and even exceeded our expectations.The staff was super friendly, tentative to all the details. Temple itself, common areas and the room were very cozy and relaxing. The private bath, meditation and making personal scent were the activities that we tried and enjoyed so very much. It felt so good to escape Kyoto (we loved it, but it's a big and touristy city..) and calm down at least for a day. So this place met all these expectations. Thank you so much.

Everything was perfect.

Staying in the temple is unique experience unlike regular, business hotel

Nothing about the property. The day we stayed was snowing and freezing cold. The temple doesn’t have a good insulation. It was very cold to walk around, however they prepare the room to be warm. We had a heating pump and oil heater in the room, get the room heated up quickly and heating pad in the bed. Very nice and warm to sleep.

Takayama Zenkoji is beautiful with a very welcoming atmosphere. We attended a service and listened to a very good sermon by the temple priest. There are activities such as Sutra writing, meditation, and walking through the 'crypt' or underground passage in the dark. We had done this before in the Zenkoji temple in Nagano. The rooms are beautiful with a fantastic bathroom and a lovely Ofuro that can be booked in advance.

It was so comfortable - the beds, the rooms and bathroom & very unique to be part of a temple with a generous offer of different things to experience. Our room overlooked a lovely Japanese garden which was surrounded by the temple. We did the early morning prayer session, followed by an introduction to meditation and we did the dark tunnel activity for fun. We could purchase a lovely coffee in the morning which we were grateful for.

It felt expensive. We went in January which is probably peak season and we arrived late and left fairly early so we may not have got the full experience. We have a family of 5 people and so choices for accommodation in Japan are limited for so many people.