What is it like to spend the night inside a Buddhist temple in Japan?

In Yamanashi Prefecture I discovered Habanobo (端場坊), a temple stay that has been welcoming travelers for more than 750 years. Unlike a ryokan or hotel, this is a true shukubō experience where guests live as part of the temple community, taking part in daily practice and finding peace in the surrounding mountains.

During my stay I joined the monks for the evening chanting of the Lotus Sutra, ate beautifully prepared shōjin ryōri (temple cuisine), and walked the famous 287 stone steps up to Kuonji Temple at sunrise. Each moment was both humbling and inspiring.

Habanobo is located on sacred Mount Minobu, the spiritual heart of Nichiren Buddhism. From the temple grounds you can explore hidden pagodas, centuries-old cherry trees, and on clear days even see Mount Fuji in the distance. The atmosphere is calm, authentic, and far away from mass tourism.

In my latest video on "Onsen with Hansen", I take you with me to experience this unforgettable templestay. You will see the rituals, the food, the quiet mornings, and the beauty of Yamanashi’s sacred landscape.

👉 Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI1TJijBilI&feature=youtu.be

If you are interested in Japanese culture, spiritual travel, or simply want to discover something new in Yamanashi, a templestay at Habanobo is one of the most unique experiences you can have. Would you try it yourself?

• All blogposts from Niigata Prefecture
• All blogposts about Japanese shrines

Japan has numerous hidden gems outside the so-called “golden route” stretching from the ancient capital of Kyoto to the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. The city of Nikko is one of the many gems situated outside of the the typical tourist route that has become well-known throughout the whole world. Just a couple of hours by train north of Tokyo you can find Nikko and its famous UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the magnificent Tōshōgū Shrine (東照宮). In addition to its sheer beauty the shrine attracts tourists from all over the world as the place where one can visit the final resting spot of the Tokugawa Shogunate's founder, Tokugawa Ieyasu. If you're planning on a trip to Nikko then the Tōshōgū Shrine is without a doubt a must to visit.

Festival participants waiting for the parade to begin

If you're planning on a visit to Nikko you might want to time it so that you get to see one of the local festivals as well. There are many events held throughout the year, such as the Grand Autumn Festival, also known as Shūki Taisai (秋季大祭). This annual event is taking place on the 16th-17th of October, and it is a smaller version of the Grand Spring Festival (Shunki Reitaisai). During the festival you can among other things see the Parade of 1,000 Samurai Warriors (百物揃千人武者行列 Hyakumono-Zoroe Sennin Gyoretsu). In reality the parade consists of not 1000 but 800 men dressed up in various historical costumes.

The parade began outside the entrance to the Taishōgun, which is Nikko's most famous temple. It is inside this temple area where the famous shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu has his final resting place. This year the event was particular important, as it commemorates the 400 years since the death of the shogun, and as you can imagine the area was packed with people traveling from near and afar to enjoy the historical event.





I traveled to Nikko with my mother and stepfather to visit the famous temples here, and we timed it so that we could see parts of the big festival as well. Although we arrived in Nikko a bit later than planed we were extremely lucky with the timing. Because it had been raining slightly in the morning the festival was delayed with a couple of hours, which gave us just enough time to do some sightseeing at some of the minor temples before the actual festival began. We lined up by the entrance gate to the Taishōgun, and ended up getting a spectacular view of the parade from where we stood. Here are some of my pictures from the parade:

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Nikko Station Hotel Classic

Iwaiyado Jyuan Ryokan

Kinugawa Onsen Hotel

Nikkorisou Backpackers

• All blog posts from Nikko
• Sightseeing in Nikko: The Grand Autumn Festival Shuki Taisai (秋季大祭)
• Sightseeing in Nikko: A Visit to the World Heritage listed Toshogu Shrine (東照宮)
• Nikko: A visit to the Emperor's Summer House - The Tamozawa Imperial Villa
• Sightseeing in Nikko: The Kanmangafuchi Abyss (憾満ヶ淵) and Bake Jizo
• Nikko Hotels: Nikko Tokinoyuu Hotel (日光 季の遊)
• Nikko Nightlife: Bar de Nikko
• Nikko: A Cross Country Skiing Experience in Oku-Nikko
• [Hotel Reviews] Nikko Astraea Hotel in Oku-Nikko - Nikko National
• All blog posts about seasonal Kanto events
• Spring
• Hiking in Tokyo: Sakura viewing (花見) at Mount Takao
• Tokyo Cherry Blossom Spots: Nakameguro's Meguro-gawa River (目黒川)
• Saitama: Pink Moss Viewing in Chichibu Hitsujiyama Park
• Summer
• Bon Odori Midsummer Festival in Ebisu (恵比寿駅前盆踊り)
• Pikachu Outbreak in Yokohama - Pikachu Tairyou Hassei-Chu
• Summer in Tokyo: Ultra Japan at Tokyo Odaiba!
• Autumn
• Yokohama: Autumn Views at the Sankeien Garden
• Sightseeing in Nikko: The Grand Autumn Festival Shuki Taisai 
• Sightseeing in Saitama: The Kawagoe Festival
• Winter
• Chiba: Winter Illumination at the Country Farm Tokyo German Village
• Yokohama: Christmas Market at the Red Brick Warehouse

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to leave any comments or questions below
- Anette

During the last couple of weeks I've had a visit from my mother and grandmother, and while I've been busy with work during the weekdays we did take some small trips during their weekends here.
For the first weekend we took the Shinkansen bullet train down to Kyoto, where we changed to the JR line heading for the ancient capital Nara. Despite having lived two years in Kyoto this was actually my first time visiting Nara.. Just about time for a visit then, one could say.!

Sakura flowers by the Himuro Shrine

We were visiting Nara early in the cherry blossom (sakura) season, and luckily there was one small shrine along the way to famous Todai-ji (東大寺) temple called Himuro Shrine (氷室神社) where the flowers already were blooming. Apparently this shrine has a history stretching back to year 710, and it is also known for having some of Nara's earliest cherry blossoms.
We also found some other cherry blossom trees by some of Nara's famous temple buildings. Among them was, as mentioned, Todai-ji. In the picture below you can see Todai-ji and a blooming sakura tree.

Todai-ji in itself is one of the main temple buildings in Nara, and is of course a must to visit if you have the chance to travel here. With what is known as the world's largest wooden building the main hall known as the Daibutsuden (or the Big Buddha Hall) was a marvelous sight. We all felt pretty small in front of the gigantic bronze Buddha statue inside the hall called the Great Buddha (Daibutsu). It weighs 500 metric tonnes, and is the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world.
But there are other things to see besides the temples in Nara. In fact, Nara is pretty well-known for its many deers. Nara's yuru-kyara is in fact a deer with Buddha-head (although just like Ishikawa-ken's mascot hyakuman-san he is struggling with his lack of popularity, it seems he just isn't kawaii enough for the Japanese people..). In the Shinto religion deers have been regarded as messengers of the gods, and in Nara the deers roam the grounds as they please. Tourists can buy them snacks, and we saw a lot of fat deers that seemed to have eaten too much of the snacks they are fed by tourists. Although the deer of course are wild animals and might butt you if you tease them they are generally used to people and very friendly. Yuma and I used the opportunity to take some selfies with them, and it didn't seem like they minded.

You can write your wish on a deer-shaped ema (絵馬)

A lazy deer that had gotten too much food from tourists

The deers are literarily lined up to greet you.

While we did spent most of our time in Nara roaming around in the parks and visiting temples our main reason for the short visit to Nara wasn't just the sightseeing. My boyfriend proposed to me at the end of last year, but our parents still hadn't had the chance to meet each other. This time my mother and grandmother had the chance to meet Yuma's parents for a nice lunch at an old ryokan (Japanese traditional style inn)/restaurant called Kikusuiro.
The building dates back to the late 19th century, and along with the restaurant and hotel business they also arrange weddings here. I have added some pictures from our lunch below:
Our trip to Nara was very short, but we still got to see a lot in only two days. Most of the places we went by were quite typical tourist attractions, but for people visiting who are interested in eating at a historical Japanese restaurant I would definitely recommending stopping by Kikusuirou.

• All blogposts about Cherry Blossom
• Mt. Fuji & Sakura Viewing: Maruyama Kouen (丸山公園) and Iwadono Castle (岩殿城)
• Tokyo Cherry Blossom Spots: Nakameguro's Meguro-gawa River (目黒川)
• Hiking in Tokyo: Sakura viewing (花見) at Mount Takao
• Cherry Blossoms and Jogging in Tokyo: The Imperial Palace (皇居)
• The Tsubame Sakura Matsuri: Cherry Blossom PR & Last Minute Preparations
• Behind the Scene of the Tsubame Sakura Matsuri Festival - The Oiran Dochu
• Sakura Season in Kansai - Hanami in the Expo ’70 Commemorative Park!
• Spring in Japan: Sakura Season and Hanami in Kyoto!
• Spring in Kyoto: Ritsumeikan University Orientation Week and Cherry Blossom Hanami!
• Sakura Season: Weekend Trip to Nara

Earlier this year Mt. Fuji was included in UNESCO's World Heritage List, making it Japan's 17th site on the list. As result the old volcano has experienced increased popularity, and not surprisingly the number of climbers who want to reach the top of Mt. Fuji is also on a rise. But although the view from Mt. Fuji is supposed to be very nice (when I climbed Mt. Fuji last year the weather was so bad we could not see much besides the heavy clouds), it is perhaps even better to climb one of the nearby mountain to take a look at Mt. Fuji from afar.
Last weekend I went on a trip to the lake area around Mt. Fuji along with my BF Yuma and his parents for a two-day hiking/onsen/tourist-trip. Our first goal was to climb some of the small mountains surrounding Mt. Fuji in order to get a good view of the mountain. The area around Mt. Fuji is quite mountainous, and there are many routes to choose from. We had first planned to climb Ryugatake (龍ヶ岳), and we started out by the camping area by lake Motosuko (本栖湖) on the west side of the famous volcano. It is easy to find the track from there, and once you get to the sign that marks the entrance to the mountain trail you can follow the path all the way to the top.

 Apparently there are some legends behind the name Ryuugatake (Dragon Mountain) too. They all are quite similar, and build around the story that a dragon protected a village from Mt. Fuji's lava during an eruption. For more information about hiking Ryuugatake, see this page (Japanese only).
After our day in the mountain we spent the evening at a traditional Japanese hotel (Ryokan) called Fuji Ginkei, situated by lake Kawaguchi (河口湖) with a nice view of Mt. Fuji. At the ryokan we were met with the utmost service, and after having gazed at Mt. Fuji from the hotel's outdoor hot bath (Rotenburo 露天風呂) it was time for Japanese style dinner. Traditional Japanese washoku (和食) food is another expected Japanese contribution to the World Heritage List, and unless you either can't stand raw fish or are generally skeptical to unusual food you're guaranteed to get a lot of satisfaction out of a full course washoku dinner. The staff really pay attention to the details, and every plate we got served looked like some sort of art.

 The next day it was quite cloudy so we could not get a proper view of Mt. Fuji from the hotel.. I've added this picture from Fuji Ginkei's homepage, depicting their outdoor onsen and Mt. Fuji:
There are several interesting places to visit in the area as well. We visited the Ichiku Kubota Art Museum, where in addition to exquisite kimonos you can enjoy the beautiful garden and various treasures collected by the artist himself from all around the world. Ichiku Kuboto became famous after having rediscovered the Tsujigahana dying technique that had been lost since the 17th century. His museum featured a large number of kimonos he has made through his life, but unfortunately visitors are not allowed to take photographs inside the museum. I've only snapped a couple of pictures of the garden.
 I wouldn't recommend this place if you are afraid of being stuck underground.. But if you can cope with it, then this might be quite a unique experience to add to your list of adventures. It is not a very famous place, so there is not that information available. Place and description can however be found here.
All in all Mt. Fuji makes a great travel destination even if you don't intend to climb it. There are many places to visit in the area, and I personally think seeing Mt. Fuji from afar in itself is a must for anyone visiting Japan.

I would also like to add that I had a fantastic weekend with Yuma and his parents, and I'm lucky that I have such wonderful people in my life. Hopefully we'll get to spend some quality time together again in the near future.

Related blog posts

• All blog posts from Yamanashi Prefecture
• All blog posts about Mt. Fuji
• Climbing Mt. Fuji!
• Traveling Japan: Mt. Fuji and its Vicinity
• Mt. Fuji & Sakura Viewing: Maruyama Kouen (丸山公園) & Iwadono Castle (岩殿城)
• Hiking in Yamanashi: The view of Mt. Fuji from Mt. Iwadonosan to Chigo-Otoshi
• Paragliding in Japan: Panorama View of Mt. Fuji with Sky Asagiri (スカイ朝霧)
• Sightseeing in Shizuoka: Fuji Safari Park
• Roundtrip in Japan: Hakone & Mikawaya Ryokan

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