We loved our 2 nights temple stay at Saimon-in! We had a simple but clean tatami room with a relaxing view of a pond outside. The breakfast and dinner meals were beautifully presented, delicious and a highlight of our trip to Japan. The toilets were shared but always clean, uncrowded and functional. There aren’t western showers but a traditional sento/onsen separated by gender. It’s a typical style to others we have visited in Japan so authentic and part of the whole temple stay experience. Salmon-in is well located, near to all the major sights. The monks don’t speak English but nothing that Google translate can’t fix and we attended the morning prayer ceremony both days which we enjoyed. Some of the negative reviews may need to remember that a temple stay is not designed to be a luxurious hotel stay.

To be honest we didn't feel welcome at this place. One example: As we booked with a third party we had a check out time until 12 am. Arriving at the place at 10:10 am to check out we were unfriendly informed that the "right" check out time is 10 am. It was our most expensive but also most dirty (dust, mold on the tiles in the bathroom) place in Japan. Between the morning prayer and breakfast our bed was made for the next guests. We noticed that only the pillowcases were removed, not the comforter. The place is well located for sightseeing. Breakfast and dinner were good.

We loved our stay at Saimon- In temple. The staff was very friendly and polite. After having spend the night there, i don’t understand the bad reviews. The room was spacious and nicely decorated, outside the window was a beautiful garden and the room had much more amenities then we were expecting, the whole area of the temple smelled nice (like sandalwood). Bathrooms are shared, but they were clean at all times. The food was just amazing, from the display to the taste! The temple itself is an old building that was gorgeous and really nice to look at!And watching the morning prayers of the monks made it an even better experience. Thank you to the staff of Saimon-In Temple for hosting us and the nice experience we had.

I wasn't particularly blown away by the service, felt like i was just getting in the way of the monks. The rooms were reasonably nice Japanese inn fare, basic without many amenities and shared facilities, tatami matts throughout your room with futons you have to make yourself. The onsen was nice. The food was excellent. Overall i think you could do better (not that i tried any other shukubo) and don't expect the monks to care much about gaijin.