Your Questions Answered

¥14,000 per person, per night. This includes meals, morning zazen, and most on-site activities.

The fee is per person, not per room. What you’re paying for is a shared homestay experience, with meals, practice, and time with the family, rather than the space you sleep in. So there is no reduction for sharing a room. Many traditional Japanese ryokan price their stays the same way.

See the Payment Chart for exact amounts by length of stay.

Yes. A 10% Japanese consumption tax is added to the balance you pay during your stay. It is not added to your deposit. To find your total, take the balance shown on the Payment Chart and add 10%.

The minimum stay is 5 nights. Five nights gives you time to settle into the rhythm of life here, though many guests tell us afterwards that it felt like the minimum. If you have the time, we recommend 10 days or longer.

The maximum stay is normally 30 nights, so that more people can experience the retreat. Once we know you, longer stays may be possible during quieter times of year. Just ask.

First-time guests book through our online coordinator, Pierre. See Book Your Stay for the two simple steps.

If you have stayed with us before, you are welcome to contact Yodo directly about a return visit.

Yes. A 10% deposit confirms your booking. See the Payment Chart for exact amounts.

The deposit is non-refundable.

If your plans change, we’ll do our best to move your booking to new dates, free of charge, as long as the new dates are available and you let us know as early as possible. Deposits can also be transferred to another guest. We are as flexible as we can be, but we can’t guarantee that your preferred new dates will be free.

A few things to know:

• Date changes made at short notice may involve an additional booking fee.

• If you shorten your stay after booking, or during your stay, the deposit for the cancelled nights is not credited toward your balance.

• Deposits are not refunded for failed visa applications.

In cash, in Japanese yen, at any time during your stay. Please don’t pay it in advance.

Temples in Japan traditionally receive payments in cash. It also keeps things simple and costs low for a small family retreat like ours.

You can withdraw yen with most foreign cards at the international ATMs in 7-Eleven and FamilyMart stores and post offices. For longer stays, keep your card’s daily withdrawal limit in mind. If you need an ATM, just ask and we’ll help you get to one.

The best time to arrive is between 2:30 PM and 5:30 PM. If you can plan your travel to arrive in this window, it helps us a lot, and we really appreciate it.

Other check-in times are 8:00 to 9:30 AM, or 1:00 to 9:00 PM. Check-in is not possible outside these hours. If you can’t reach the retreat by 9:00 PM, please book a room in Beppu or nearby for the night and come to us the next day.

Please always confirm your arrival time with us in advance, and please don’t arrive unannounced, even during the best arrival time. Full details are on Getting Here.

You can check out any time before 5:00 PM, and you’re welcome to stay for lunch on your departure day. If new guests are arriving, we may ask you to leave your room earlier, possibly from around 10:00 AM. Thank you for helping us get the room ready for the next guest.

Yes. We can normally pick you up at JR Bungo-Toyooka Station or at the Hiji bus stop. Please send us your confirmed arrival time in advance.

Yodo is a working Zen monk. Temple duties sometimes come up unexpectedly. If this happens, you may need to wait a little at the station or bus stop. Thank you for your understanding.

We don’t normally provide pickup from Beppu Station or Oita Airport.

From the Tokyo area, Oita Airport is often the easiest choice. Flights from both Narita and Haneda can be quite inexpensive when booked early. For international arrivals, Fukuoka usually has better connections. It’s worth comparing both.

If you arrive at Oita Airport, take an airport bus that stops at Hiji. When you board, tell the driver that you want to get off at Hiji.

If you arrive at Fukuoka Airport around 4:00 PM or later, we recommend staying a night in Fukuoka or Beppu and coming to us the next day.

Step-by-step routes are on Getting Here.

We have two guesthouses and host a maximum of nine guests at a time, so the retreat always stays small and personal.

Some rooms are traditional Japanese-style rooms with futons. Others have Western-style beds.

Our family assigns rooms based on the number of guests and the needs of each stay, so guests generally can’t choose their own room.

Absolutely. Most of our guests are solo travellers.

No. Bedrooms are always private. Couples and friends travelling together may share a room if they wish. Just let us know.

Bathrooms and toilets are always shared. There are no en-suite bathrooms.

Yes. We provide futons or beds, sheets, blankets, and towels, with extra blankets in the colder months.

Yes. There is a washing machine you can use, but no dryer. We normally hang our clothes to dry at the retreat.

If you prefer to use a dryer, there is a laundromat near the train station, on the other side of the highway. Please don’t try to cross the highway directly. Use one of the many tunnels that pass underneath it.

Bedrooms have heating and air conditioning. Like most Japanese homes, though, the houses aren’t centrally heated, and other rooms can be chilly in winter. Please turn off the heating or AC when you leave your room.

Yes. Meals, and the food to prepare them, are included in your stay.

Weekdays: lunch and dinner are cooked together with your hosts, who guide you through everyday Japanese home cooking. It's a shared effort and a hands-on cooking lesson, not restaurant service, and helping in the kitchen and with cleaning up is part of the experience. Breakfast is a very light monastic meal of traditional rice porridge.

Weekends: food is still provided, but the family takes a break from the kitchen. Guests decide among themselves what to cook, and most weekend meals still have a few people cooking together. Others use the weekend to try the restaurants nearby or take a longer day trip.

If you plan to miss a meal on a weekday, please let us know in advance.

We can accommodate many dietary needs within reason. These include vegetarian, vegan, pescatarian, and some religious diets.

However, this is a family home, not a restaurant kitchen. Everyone’s food is prepared in the same kitchen, and fish is cooked often, sometimes daily. We can’t fully separate cooking equipment or guarantee there will be no cross-contact.

If you have a serious allergy or need a very strict diet, for example a strict gluten-free diet because of celiac disease, we may not be able to accommodate you safely.

Please tell us about any allergies or dietary needs before booking, and we’ll tell you honestly what we can and cannot do.

No. We eat everyday Japanese home cooking. Yodo explains why in In Yodo’s Words.

A typical weekday looks something like this:

• 6:50 AM: Gather

• 7:00 AM: Zazen

• 8:00 AM: Breakfast

• Around 9:30 AM: Samu (work practice), calligraphy, tea ceremony, or other activities

• Around 11:15 AM: Prepare lunch and eat together

• Afternoon: Free time or activities

• Dinner: Around 5:30 PM on Mondays, usually around 6:30 PM on other days

This isn’t a fixed tour schedule. Timing and activities change with temple duties, family commitments, and the number of guests. Part of staying here is joining the natural rhythm of daily life.

Morning zazen is at the heart of the retreat, so we ask all guests to take part. If you’re sick, injured, or exhausted, just talk to Yodo. Read more in In Yodo’s Words.

Of course. Many guests visit Beppu, Yufuin, hot springs, and other places nearby. We just ask that you take part in morning zazen and the basic rhythm of life here. Please let us know if you’ll miss a meal or be away for a long time, and try to be back by 10:00 PM.

Yes. You’re welcome to read, walk, rest, or simply be alone in your free time.

This isn’t a formal silent retreat. We live, eat, and work together, so everyday conversation is part of life here. If you’d like to keep silence yourself for some of your stay, though, we’ll support you.

No. Yodo communicates with guests in English, and many guests aren’t native English speakers either. Perfect language skills aren’t necessary.

No special clothing is needed. For zazen, wear loose, comfortable clothes you can sit in.

The temple is an active Japanese Buddhist temple where you’ll meet local people, so please avoid very revealing clothing there. At the guesthouse, wear what you like.

In the colder months, the temple doors and windows are open during morning zazen, so bring warm layers. Good walking shoes are useful too.

Yes. We’re in a quiet, semi-rural area, so mosquitoes and other insects are normal, especially in the warmer months. Mosquito-borne illnesses are rare in Japan, but if you’re sensitive to bites, bring your preferred repellent.

It’s not expected, but Japan has a strong gift culture, and a small gift goes a long way when you’re welcomed into someone’s home. Something simple from your home country, such as snacks or sweets, is always appreciated. It doesn’t need to be big or expensive.

Summers are hot and humid, and winters are cold, especially in the early morning. Check the current forecast for Hiji before you pack.

Usually, yes. We try to hold tea ceremony and calligraphy at least once a week. Depending on schedules, we may also be able to arrange kimono dressing, AIKIX, yoga, or local tours.

We schedule these around temple and family commitments, so we can’t promise a particular day. Our family members and teachers have their own work and responsibilities, and activities can’t be booked before you arrive.

Some activities have an additional fee or suggested donation. Please check the price before joining, as prices may change. If these experiences are important to you, we recommend a stay of 10 days or longer.

Entrance fees, hot springs, transportation, meals out, and other personal expenses are your own responsibility.

When Yodo takes guests out in the car, he doesn’t charge for his time. He enjoys these outings, and we see them as part of the experience. Please cover your own share of costs along the way, the same way you would with a friend. For more expensive outings, we’ll talk about costs beforehand.

Visa requirements depend on your nationality. Please check first with the Japanese embassy or consulate in your country.

If you need a document from us, please ask Pierre before booking. Depending on what’s required, we may or may not be able to provide it.

We can only help by email or other digital means. We can’t print, post, or courier original documents. Deposits are not refunded for failed visa applications.

No special vaccinations are required to visit Japan. Please follow the advice of your own doctor or travel clinic.

For your trip around Japan as a whole, it can be excellent value. For the days you spend at the retreat, it usually isn’t, because local trips are short and inexpensive. The pass runs for consecutive days, so the longer you stay with us, the more of it goes unused. Many guests plan their travel around their stay, for example by starting the pass on the day they leave.

Please plan to pay in cash. It’s by far the simplest way for everyone.

If paying in cash is truly impossible, for example because someone else is paying for your stay, please contact us before you arrive. In that case, we may be able to accept the balance by PayPal, with a 5% fee added to cover processing costs.