A shukubo is lodging for pilgrims visiting a temple or shrine, where you can savor shojin ryori (Buddhist vegetarian cuisine), join the morning service and experience a day in a place of prayer. You can stay in long-standing centers of faith such as Koyasan in Wakayama, Mt. Hiei in Shiga, Zenkoji and Togakushi in Nagano, and Mt. Haguro of the Dewa Sanzan in Yamagata.
Shukubo originally arose around temples and sacred mountains as lodgings for pilgrims who had traveled from afar and for practitioners in training. Today many welcome ordinary travelers regardless of sect or faith, and through shojin ryori, the morning gongyo service, shakyo (sutra copying) and ajikan meditation, you can get a glimpse of life at a temple or shrine.
Places introduced on official tourism sites of local governments and tourism associations. Check each official site for prices, hours and booking.
📍 Tsuruoka, Yamagata
A pilgrims' lodge on Mt. Haguro, one of the Dewa Sanzan, housed in temple buildings once lived in by yamabushi mountain ascetics. You can stay as a pilgrim and enjoy shojin ryori made with wild mountain vegetables and mushrooms.
💡 Both stays and meals require reservations, and some winter days have no guests accepted, so inquire early.
📍 Nagano, Nagano
A shukubo for pilgrims right next to the Chusha shrine of Togakushi Shrine. Run by an owner who is also a Shinto priest, it serves meals made with seasonal local vegetables.
💡 Combine your stay with a tour of Togakushi Shrine's five shrines and Togakushi soba for a true shrine-town experience.
📍 Nagano, Nagano
A shukubo within the Zenkoji temple precincts, where on arrival you hear about Zenkoji and its O-asaji morning service, and enjoy shojin ryori. The next morning, staff guide you to the O-asaji, and you can also experience the Okaidan Meguri (a walk through the pitch-dark passage beneath the main hall) and the Ojuzu Chodai (a blessing with prayer beads).
💡 Sutra copying requires advance booking, so if you want to try it, request it along with your room reservation.
📍 Otsu, Shiga
The only shukubo where you can stay within the precincts of Enryakuji on Mt. Hiei, located near the Konponchudo hall. You can listen to a monk's sermon and attend the morning service held before the Eternal Dharma Flame.
💡 Sutra copying and zazen must be requested when you book, and mountain roads can freeze in winter, so prepare winter tires if you are driving.
📍 Koya, Ito District, Wakayama
A Koyasan shukubo known for its natural hot spring baths and shojin ryori made with seasonal vegetables. You can try sutra copying and Buddha-image tracing, morning sutra chanting with a sermon, and the goma fire ritual.
💡 The hot spring is for overnight guests only; day-trip bathing is not available.
📍 Koya, Ito District, Wakayama
A Koyasan shukubo near Okunoin, where you can experience the gongyo service, the goma fire ritual, ajikan (Shingon esoteric Buddhist meditation) and sutra copying. English-speaking staff are on hand, and many overseas travelers stay here.
💡 Ajikan is done seated, so loose, comfortable clothing makes it easier.
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At a kimono rental shop you pick a pattern you love, get dressed by the staff, and head straight out to stroll historic streets. Specialist shops cluster in towns with old streetscapes, temples and shrines, such as Asakusa in Tokyo, Higashiyama in Kyoto, the Higashi Chaya District in Kanazawa and Kamakura. Many shops also offer yukata in summer, so you can enjoy a different look each season.
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In a tea room you watch the host's otemae (tea preparation), enjoy wagashi (Japanese sweets) and matcha, and then try whisking matcha yourself. Beginners and overseas travelers can easily join in Uji, home of Uji tea, in Kyoto city, in Kanazawa with its deep-rooted tea culture, and in Ginza, Tokyo.
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Learn from wagashi artisans and instructors as you shape jo-namagashi (fine fresh confections) such as nerikiri (sweet bean paste confections) with your own hands. You can easily join in Kyoto and Kanazawa, where tea culture runs deep, and in Matsue and Izumo, known as wagashi towns.
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Under the guidance of chefs and instructors, you make nigiri and rolled sushi or hand-made soba noodles yourself and enjoy them on the spot. Classes are easy to join everywhere, from city-center studios in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto to soba country such as Togakushi in Nagano and Nikko in Tochigi.
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Using a brush and ink, you practice your favorite kanji or your own name on hanshi practice paper, then write a final copy on shikishi (a decorative square board). Studios in Ginza and Yushima in Tokyo and in a Kyoto machiya townhouse welcome beginners and overseas travelers, while in Nara and Kumano, Hiroshima, you can also get hands-on with making the ink and brushes that calligraphy depends on.
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Arrange seasonal flowers and branches in a vase and discover a uniquely Japanese sense of beauty through ikebana. You can try it at places that welcome beginners and overseas travelers, including Ikenobo at Rokkakudo in Kyoto, considered the birthplace of ikebana, the Sogetsu Kaikan in Tokyo and small studios in Osaka.
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In the regions where artisans have handed down their skills, you can try pottery, indigo dyeing, gold leaf application, Edo Kiriko cut glass and papermaking with your own hands. From Mashiko and Arita ceramics to Edo Kiriko in Tokyo, Kanazawa gold leaf, Mino washi and Tokushima indigo, workshops and public facilities around Japan welcome first-timers.
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Use your whole body to beat taiko drums large and small, and feel the sound and rhythm resonate deep in your chest. Besides dedicated studios in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, you can try it on Sado Island, home base of the taiko performing group Kodo, and in Hamamatsu, home to a long-established taiko maker.
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Zazen (seated meditation) in a Zen temple and shakyo, copying a sutra one character at a time, are temple experiences that let you calm your mind in the middle of your travels. Temples that welcome first-timers include Eiheiji, head temple of the Soto school; Engakuji and Kenchoji, among the Five Great Zen Temples of Kamakura; Tofukuji and Ryosokuin in Kyoto; and Yakushiji in Nara.
Place information is based on official tourism sites of local governments and tourism associations and on each place’s official site. Experiences and availability may change.
Checked: 2026-10-16
