The monks do everything from check-in, to turndown service (making up your futon) and preparing dinner and breakfast. ...🌰...
We stayed in Soji-in monastery in Koyasan which is renowned for its high standard food. The meals are unlike anything you get in the West or even the rest of Japan.
...🍁...
Strictly vegetarian, the meals are exceptionally beautiful, consisting of dozens of small and intricate dishes served in stunning bowls, plates and cups which complement or match the design of the food. Each tiny dish is like a work of art.
...⛩...
Here, vegetarian means not only no meat or fish, but also no garlic or onions although eggs are permitted. This is due to the Shingon Buddhist beliefs (and something that is often seen in Asian religions, even in Singapore it is prevalent) that pungent vegetables are considered "hot," and are seen as liable to increase the body's desires and lusts.
...🍂...
Unfortunately as there were SO many dishes, with unusual ingredients and a menu in very poor English I couldn’t with any certainty tell you what this dish had in it (aside from the obvious green beans and cute maple leaf shaped carrot). I believe this dish had a piece of sweetened omelette stuffed with vegetables, a mochi glutinous rice ball of some description and a piece of boiled root vegetable, possibly a turnip. The soup was a form of miso. I never realised until this meal that there are multiple different types of miso, most of which I felt we tried that night! Swipe to see the array of dishes!
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