Kubono-bo
TEL	05566-2-0067	without meals 6,000 yen including 2 meals 8000 yen~
Access	"JR Minobu station" > (bus) > "Minobusan bus stop" > 5 minutes walk
Parking	There is a parking lot
Time	Check-in 15:00 Check-out 10:00
Room	12 guest room
This is a shukubo of Kuon-ji temple on Mount Minobu. The rooms are separated by sliding doors, but are spacious and comfortable. Some rooms are equipped with air conditioning and others are not. Those rooms have electric fans instead. The religious services at Kubono-bo are conducted from 17:00. After reading sutra with the head priest, we heard a sermon. The theme was on how to use time. From 5:30 in the morning, I was able to participate in a large-scale service at the main hall of Kuon-ji temple. I left the shukubo, climbed the steep stone stairs of the approach to Kuon-ji temple and walked to the main hall. Listening to the sutra chanted by priests, I was led to quiet spiritual relaxation in the tense air of the morning. The sutra reading conducted with the presence of many priests and worshippers was really solemn. The food they served was vegetable dishes using hand-made devil's tongue jelly and seasonal vegetables. As they use seasonal food, the menu changes daily. I recommend their homemade plum liquor. The separate hut that you can reach through the garden, with its many wild plants, offers a slow, relaxing time. If you wish, you are able to taste macha (powdered green tea). Also, a "Seizakai" is held from 14:00 to 16:00 on the second and the fourth Sunday every month. I attended one of them and received instruction from Mr. Asukai, who has 50 years seiza experience (sitting straight with your legs folded underneath). Many of you may have the impression that you get your feet numb when sitting seiza style, but in this meeting, you can change your posture if you feel your feet getting numb because the purpose of the sitting is calm one's mind. I learned the secret to not having your feet go numb. Before you start to sit, lie down with your face up, raise both of your legs facing your heels upward and wave your feet in the air. By doing so, the blood in your legs and feet goes back to your body. To my surprise, this allowed me to sit straight with ease. I closed my eyes and sat straight in seiza style for about 30 minutes. I felt my mind, which was restless, gradually calm down. As it was summer then, I was relaxed, feeling as if the chorus of cicadas penetrated into my body. In the end, there was a Q&A session about how to sit and how to stay healthy. We had positive discussions.

Please confirm the latest information at the time of lodging.