Rooms..traditional Japanese low seating, rooms with wooden floors and doors and partitions.
Ambience..tranquil, do not miss the meditation ceremony, maintain absolute silence and contemplate at the mini Zen gardens, essentially self help
Food..exquisite dining ceremonies with traditional Japanese temple cuisine.
Location..bus stop for buses headed to and from koyasan station and various locations in Koyasan right outside the temple. Buses arrive and depart in Japanese precision.
Pretty expensive but i would choose this place over any 5 star in the world

We arrived in Koya-san around 6pm/7pm and so decided to stay 2 nights, which I think was just a little bit longer that needed, but WHAT AN EXPERIENCE.

It isn't cheap (£100 for a room with separate toilet and food is costly), but the room and grounds make up for it. Being Veggie was HARD in Tokyo and Osaka, but Koya is your oyster (or not, if you are veggie...). The food was so beautiful and enjoyable.

The temple compound is awe-inspiring and should humble anyone. We really loved the first room and the grounds. You are welcome to participate in the ceremonies - which I really liked (as a part timer) but my partner was not as keen on. Staying silent for a full hours is perhaps not his strongest ability.

But the comic element came on the 2nd day, when a very loud Russian family checked in next to us. The rooms are paper thin (literally) so it was obvious that we were not going to get any peace and quiet that night. We complained to the reception, and embarrassingly the family was moved to a quieter area. I should feel bad, but the whole point of this experience is about channeling one's thoughts through meditation, which requires peace and quiet.

After reading about it in our Michelin guide, my wife and I decided to stay one evening at the Rengejoin Temple in Koyasan. We were glad we did! The hospitality, the food, the scenery and the coziness of our room were all reasons we loved Rengejoin Temple. We highly recommend a stay here, especially if you are a vegan or vegetarian (we aren't, but it's worth noting that all of the food was vegan & delicious!).

After reading the positive reviews of Koyasan on japan-guide.com, I decided to spent my second night in Japan at Rengejo-in, Mount Koya (booking through Japanese Guest Houses). I was hesitant as, at the time of booking, I do not think that there were any tripadvisor reviews and the temple was my 4th preference, the others being booked out. I was also slightly apprehensive as when I mentioned an overnight stay at Mount Koya, locals in Osaka laughed and made a motion of being hit with a stick, and I'd heard a few nasty stories back home.

The stay at Rengejo-in was phenomenal. We were welcomed to a meditation session (about 40 mins I think), and a delicious meal was provided (10 dishes brought out one after the other of traditional food). I only saw about 4 other tourists staying at the temple, one of whom was an aussie chef who had originally gone to the temple to learn the style of cuisine traditional to the temples, but who had stayed on far longer because he had come to like the lifestyle so much. Breakfast was very nice as well, with many different meals too. The monks were truly outstanding hosts.

The rooms were fine (see photo), although it was a bit of a shame that there was a tv in the corner. Heating was provided (and needed!)

If you visit during the winter like I did, you might get lucky and have some snow. Made the gardens at Rengejo-in look awesome.

Make sure you allocate a good few hours to wander round the moss-covered Okunoin cemetery on Mount Koya - the place is breathtaking, and the clash of the old and the corporate is incredible.