A sleepover in Sekishoin Monastery

After a long day of exploring Koyasan I finally checked into my Temple for the night. It is something my photographer was really keen on experiencing but I was rather nervous about the thought of staying in such a religious place. Once again my photographer’s shoes had to stay outside (yes they smell that bad) and we were given the room key and instructions about the building and it’s rules. As I was walking to my room the head monk passed by with a friendly hello, I had been panicking about this moment for some reason but I don’t know why. The Buddhist monks were all friendly and were happy to chat with the guests, there are some rules but common curtesy seems to be well received here.

Sekishoin Monastery

The building was simple with minimal decorations but it was clean and cool. My room was on the third floor hidden at the end of a long corridor. I was fully expecting to be sharing a room with other humans and possibly one or two dinosaurs but I was really lucky to get an ensuite room to myself.

My photographer thought the entrance to the room looked like a prison cell which made both of us laugh a lot, I think they added the extra doorway to make the guests feel safer by having a lockable shutter but Japan is so safe you don’t really need it.

The Room

My room was a single with enough space for a table area, a seating area, a bed and much to my surprise I had a really modern en suite (complete with Japanese toilet). The floor was Tatami, a surprisingly soft material to walk on and have heating benefits in the winter. Though it was raining cats and dogs during my visit, I still had the aircon set to full blast because the humidity is something I really struggled to get used to.

My bed was a futon which meant I spent a night sleeping on the floor on a thin yet comfortable mattress. In Japan it is thought that sleeping on Tatami helps your muscles relax and improves spinal alignment. There is a 9pm curfew which is enforced by playing 1980’s elevator music for around one minute followed by silence. Or as I experienced, the sound of torrential rain landing on the surrounding forest. I had a great nights sleep and woke the next morning feeling great.

My room was on the third floor and at the end of the corridor was an area of seating with beautiful views over the area, I spent many hours sitting here watching the world go by. The WIFI wasn’t working during my stay and this turned into the most beautiful detox I never knew I needed.

The Food

The food was delicious and I was able to finally try Shojin-Ryori food which is a fancy way of saying Buddhist vegetarian dishes. Food was served in many small dishes spread across two small tables which were in front of me as I sat on the floor. The dining room was a big tatami room surrounded by beautifully painted screens. I was rather nervous about this meal because I have never really had to use chopsticks before (Hong Kong and Singapore usually provide forks and spoons). I tried many vegetables I have never eaten before and I absolutely loved the tempura lotus roots with matcha powder. I also tried freeze dried tofu which really tasted like a washing up sponge but the smooth tofu was in a deliciously spicy wasabi and sesame dressing. The small bowls give the appearance that there isn’t much food but I was stuffed after trying the many different foods available.

Breakfast was a similar affair, various small bowls of traditional vegetarian Japanese dishes. I will admit I preferred breakfast to the dishes I had the night before. Squares of seaweed, sweetened fermented soy beans and boiled rice made a really delicious start to the day. Though the thought of eating rice for breakfast did really confuse me at first. Green tea was delicious and I have definitely changed my morning drink of choice from coffee to green tea.

The location

Sekishoin is pretty central and you can walk to the majority of the main sights in Koyasan pretty easily. The bus stops on the main road outside of the monastery and has a frequent service throughout the day. Koyasan is a really quiet town so you can’t stay in the wrong place. I really loved Koyasan but did not book enough time to explore as much as I wanted to, my blog on the town can be found here.

Activities

You can join in a few activities at the monastery such as meditation and certain prayer ceremonies. I chose to learn to write my name in Japanese and also take part in a fire ceremony. The calligraphy was really fun but also a very hard thing to do, my name is only short but it is really hard to write. I am definitely going to try and learn as much Japanese as I can during my trip because it is a really interesting language.

The fire ceremony began very early and I had to be downstairs for 6:50 am. I’m not really sure how much I am allowed to say about the ceremony itself because there were a lot of warning signs on the door. I mainly observed at the beginning of the ceremony because the monks were chanting and some of the Japanese guests were praying. The chanting was really soothing and I was happy to sit back and listen until I realised I had to get up from my seat at the back and play my part in the ritual. The first part included writing a wish on a wooden stick (the easy part), then I headed to the alter to cleanse my aura with ash that smelled of incense. I then took my gomagi (wooden stick) and threw it into a consecrated fire. The fire is meant to cleanse the spirit and rid the wish of any negative energy. I bowed to the fire to express my gratitude and finally returned to my seat to enjoy the end of the ceremony. I think my wish will come true one day but we will have to wait and see.

There is a public bath in the monastery which sadly was closed due to COVID but the garden more than made up for this. The garden is designed in the kaiyu-style and is over 6600m squared, filled with trees, a pond and tranquil scenes. I’d love to come back in autumn to see all of the leaves turn beautiful shades of orange. At the back of the garden is a building used for tea ceremonies but it was closed so I couldn’t go in.

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