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"Our stay at Sojiin was truly the most wonderful experience. We stayed for two nights with our 10-year-old son, hoping to gain a deeper understanding of life in a Buddhist temple—and it exceeded our expectations. We attended the morning prayer ceremony at 6am, which was a peaceful and moving way to start the day. In the afternoons, we joined a meditation session led by Patrick, and also took part in his insightful evening walk around the main temple complex. Patrick was outstanding—warm, humorous, and thought-provoking. He encouraged us to reflect deeply on aspects of our own lives, and made the experience accessible and engaging for all ages. Our son enjoyed it so much he insisted on attending a second session. The Buddhist vegan cuisine was superb—beautifully prepared, nourishing, and surprisingly varied. Each meal felt like an extension of the temple’s peaceful philosophy. The entire sacred area of Koyasan is fascinating, rich in history and spiritual meaning. We left feeling inspired, reflective, and incredibly grateful for our time at Sojiin."

"We had a wonderful stay in Tanabe. We wished we had booked a third night to do more of the Kumano Kodo. We will be back!"

"A very unique one night only experience. The property is immaculate. The dinner was a wonderful tasting of many things I had never tried, all very good and filling. Breakfast was not as good. The hotel staff was very accommodating and kind. The morning prayer was peaceful and beautiful. The only complaint is the sleeping mats are paper thin and extremely uncomfortable, even after placing one on top of the other with all the blankets it was nearly unbearable. Neith my wife nor I got more than two hours of sleep. It's too bad, because we have slept in other Ryokan style places that were traditional but not painful. For this reason I would advise asking in advance for something better to sleep on."

"Perfect 😍"

"A very different experience for a foreigner, and one that I cherished as a student of Buddhism. If you aren’t adventurous, I don’t recommend it, and if you go, please be curious, open, and full of respect. The non-sleeping rooms will be very cold in winter, the food served is the food served, without changes available, there are rules about which slippers to wear where and what can be photographed, etc. If you’re interested in deep travel (versus hedonism), you will be gifted and changed. Otherwise, please don’t go. "

"I wasn’t expecting multi-course dinners that included sashimi and other top quality ingredients. It was incredible, delicious and filling. Great breakfast buffet too. I was delighted with our stay, my boyfriend wasn’t happy about having to go to the onsen to shower, but he got into the spirit and enjoyed himself."

"The best sleep we had for the whole trip"

"The meals are great, pick up and drop off service really well organised."

"It’s worth noting that this is not a normal hotel but a traditional pilgrim’s lodging, so it is expected that you sleep on a mat on the floor and the facilities are relatively basic. You are staying here for the experience. The property was clean with onsen (hot bath) provided and our room had its own toilet/sink. Our only complaint is that they no longer serve food and we were not notified of this despite this being part of our booking, however we found a restaurant for dinner walking distance away and had a delicious meal. "