If I was to choose to coolest accommodation during our recent Japanese trip, it would have to be a temple stay at Koyasan, a small mountain town about 2.5h by train from Osaka. There is over 50 temples and monasteries there, most of which offer traditional Japanese accommodation. We stayed in a temple called Shojoshin-in and it turned out to be a great choice.
From the moment we walked in, we felt like travelling back in time. And if it wasn’t for the wifi available in the monastery, I would have definitely felt like hundred years ago. Our room was traditional and spectacular, with big window, comfortable futons as our bed, kotatsu (traditional Japanese heater), sliding door and kimonos waiting to be worn by us. Then there was a dinner, which turned out to be the best meal during the whole trip. And that’s despite the fact it was vegetarian. In the morning we attended morning ceremony with the monks in residence and were then served amazing vegetarian breakfast. Fantastic experience.

Osaka was the first place we visited in Japan. Based on what other people who have been to the city told me, Osaka was to be quite boring and deprived of any real attractions. We took the risk and stayed there for three days. It turned out it was a good decision, because we liked Osaka a lot. It’s fun and it’s got great character!