A shukubo — temple lodging — on the sacred mountain of Koya-san, where monks have slept for over a thousand years and guests are very much welcome to do the same. Fudo-in dates to 906 and is dedicated to Fudo Myoo, the fierce, flame-backed deity of spiritual protection. Conveniently positioned in the southern part of Koya-san's central Yamauchi district, it's a brilliant base for exploring the mountain's cedar-shrouded temples and graveyards. A Japanese garden, birdsong, and the option to try sutra copying round out an experience that's as far from a hotel as Japan gets.
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Japan's spiritual heartland is a heady combination of incense, cedar forests and twelve centuries of monastic life.
