A Temple Stay in Ohara, Kyoto: Morning Sutras and Rice Porridge
A night at a shukubo near Sanzen-in in Kyoto's Ohara. Waking to the sound of sutras, eating shojin ryori alone in the morning quiet.
Eisuke Kameta
March 14, 2026
Solo Score
★★★★★
Budget
From ¥18,000 per person (two meals)
Access
Kyoto Station → Kyoto Bus Route 17 → Ohara (approx. 60 min)
5:30 a.m. Through the paper screen, the faint sound of sutras.
I lay in the futon listening. In Ohara, nights are deep and mornings arrive early. The sound was real.
This is a shukubo — lodging attached to a Buddhist temple — near Sanzen-in. A tatami room with no television. A small scroll in the tokonoma. Meals were shojin ryori, the vegetarian cuisine of temple tradition.
Why Ohara
Ohara sits in a valley north of Kyoto, too far for a day trip. The temples — Sanzen-in, Shorin-in, Jakko-in — are spaced along quiet paths. After the last tour buses leave at dusk, the valley is yours.
The Evening Meal
Shojin ryori refuses substitution. No attempt to simulate meat. The ingredients — tofu, seasonal vegetables, fu, sesame, pickles — are themselves. Dashi made from kombu alone.
The meal arrived on a lacquer tray set on the tatami. I ate slowly. The sound of the river outside. No one else in the dining room.
Morning
Rice porridge with pickles and a small dish of sesame tofu. The cedar smell in the corridors. Light through paper screens. The garden still wet with dew.
For the Solo Traveler
Shukubo are among the most naturally solo-friendly accommodations in Japan. The atmosphere discourages noise. The pace is set by the temple’s schedule, not social obligation.