Kakurin-bo
TEL	05566-2-0014	including 2 meals 8,000 yen.
Access	"JR Minobu station" > (bus) > "Minobusan bus stop" > 5 minutes walk
Room	20 guest room , max 150 people
This is a shukubo of Kuon-ji temple on Mount Minobu. The shukubo people were very kind and they served good food. I hear the cook won the grand prix award in a "Yuba (tofu skin) cooking competition" and he cooked elaborately made dishes in abundance for me alone. (Unfortunately, I was the only guest on that day.) They also gave me a talisman to prevent eye diseases; the talisman is unique to this shukubo. I was able to buy eye drops called Hiasasui. I saw they also sell tea good for your eyes. The room was clean, and I slept in a puffy futon mattress and duvet. The room had air conditioning, too. Services were conducted at Kuon-ji temple, which is a little away from the shukubo. It was truly a powerful event with a lot of priests participating. It lasted from 6:00 to 7:30 in the morning. It was cold but partially covered with an electric carpet. Also, the Japanese garden of Minobu Town, which is designated as a cultural asset, is very beautiful. It is a must see. I felt as if my mind had been purified while I was leisurely watching the scenery.
I stayed at Kakurinbou near Mt. Minobu after reading the reviews on syukubo.com. It was my first experience doing an overnight temple stay. In general I would say everything was as I'd hoped and more. When we made our reservation, the staff helpfully suggested that we move our stay up a day to avoid the big rush of Golden Week. Consequently, we were one of only two groups staying that night so we had absolute peace and quiet. The staff was very accommodating of foreigners, though I'm sure some of their fears were allayed when they learned one of us spoke some Japanese. The food was excellent and really an incredible value given how many different and intricate dishes were served. The garden was one of the most beautiful I've ever seen. We got up around 4 the next morning and had a memorable experience attending services at Kuonji. My only regret was that I didn't get to meet the head of the temple, who I have heard is a colorful person. I would recommend the shukubou to anyone. Our group was so delighted to have found such a gem. Many thanks to the folks at syukubo.com for putting so much helpful information together -- there is absolutely no way we could have found this place without the site.

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