The temple - Vacation STAY 38624v

A very unusual setup: a former priest’s residence has been turned into a guesthouse and event room within the precinct. You can ask for access to worship inside the main hall, and there’s also a small space for Muslim prayer.

Staying in traditional-style living quarters at a temple was such a special experience. One of my best stays in Japan.

The quiet residential setting was one of the best parts for us. It’s 1.6km from the main tourist sights, with a convenience mart only a five-minute walk away. If you want to be in the middle of the action, this isn’t the place, but we preferred the authentic neighborhood. It’s good value, especially for groups of four or more, and the rooms are spacious with a good shower system. The temple itself is unique and worth trying, though I’d book with care. The place doesn’t seem to have been lived in by its owners or designers, and a few practical fixes would help. It was clean, though I did find a big spider in the main bathroom. May sunrise comes around 4:45am, and there are no blackout blinds. I wore an eye mask, but the room was still bright at 5am. Blackout blinds would make a big difference. The main bedroom also needs a mirror and more hooks for clothes and towels. I struggled to do my makeup using my phone camera, then found two mirrors in the other annexe bedroom. Those seem like easy things for the owners to fix. Check-in was confusing. The digital lockbox had two keys, one for Kuri room and one for Hanare room, so I wasn’t sure which room was mine or whether another guest might be arriving. The company’s messages through the booking app weren’t clear. Eventually I found out the booking included both rooms, so the whole property was ours. I wish they’d told me that from the start.

The room was comfortable, and the detached building has a mini-kitchen and shower booth. Neither that building nor the main house has a bathtub. The area is residential and very quiet at night, but getting to the sights takes some effort. It’s over a 20-minute walk to Kintetsu Nara Station, or about 1,400 yen by taxi. My main problem was the air conditioning. The two Daikin units seemed pretty good, but they made a constant typhoon-like noise in the quiet at night. I measured 43dB with a smartphone app. Some people may not mind, but it kept me awake, so I had to turn the AC off. That was my only disappointment.