Welcome to Saikan Dewa Sanzan Haguroyama. This Buddhist temple is located in Haguroyama and is part of the Three Mountains of Dewa. It's an historical building, originally called Kezouin, but was rebuilt in 1697. Saikan Dewa Sanzan Haguroyama is a wooden temple with sliding doors, so doors cannot be locked though this only adds to the charm. Adventurous guests reach the temple by climbing up 2,466 stone steps, though there is also a bus you can take. From October to April it will be cold at night, so please bring warm clothes.

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Ryokan Reviews:

• Peaceful moments in Winter

  Kingyan

  Date of Review: December, 2019

  Month of Visit: December

  Country Of Reviewer: Switzerland

  Atmosphere Rating - 4

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  My aim (or imagination) was the trekking part through the snow reaching the temple. All in all, I found what I was looking and hoping for, it was a great experience had some pristine moments. Let's start: Because it was snow raining when arriving at Tsuruoka train station, I had for some moments my doubts to take the promising walk from bus station "羽黒随神門 Hagurozuishinmon" to the temple; the bus trip itself took around 50min. But gladly I was wrong then when nearing that place it (around 2pm) starts to snow and it has enough but not to much. The walk, which google taxed at 50min for a summer walk, it took me around 2hours. I also made some pics where I could grasp some of those picturesque, peaceful and solemn moments I was looking for; especially at the beginning with the sacred bridge at Haraigawa and the Suga Waterfalls just next to it. As the other reviewer mentioned: due to the snow I would not recommend to take this winter walk with kids; you need to be light weighted (30l backpack max) because it sometimes gets steep and you don't see the steps at all because it is covered by snow. It reached partially up to my knees and I took my autumn hiking clothing plus additional thermo underwear/ basic winter gears. When arriving at the top, due to the snow I was strolling for other 30min just to find out where the main entrance to the lodge (well, it is the same main entrance to the temple on the right side; just ignore all the parking lot signature where I went / so, when passing the Torii Gate, reach the street road and turn right until you see another Torii gate --> there is the main building). It was off season, I was the only guest at that night. The staff were very friendly, the supper and breakfast was great (almost too much) and the room was nice and traditional. Here I would like to point out: they have an onsen and they provide towels/Yukata which I used as well. I stayed already in Ryokans, so I put not much high expecation in this regard. Having said that, they nevertheless provided a great and nice hospitality experience. Since my focus was the trecking of those 2446 steps through the snow and the ceddar tree forest, I skipped the morning ceremony. But even then the whole temple ground is a beauty covered by snow. The way back I took the first bus back to Tsuruoka at 9am. This short hiking was my personal highlight of my Japan trip. Next time I would go for the whole "Dewa Sanzan" pilgrimage in Spring/Autumn.

• Good experience

  Sandrine

  Date of Review: August, 2019

  Month of Visit: August

  Country Of Reviewer: France

  Atmosphere Rating - 4

  Food Rating - 4

  Staff Rating - 4

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 3

  The location is very impressive because you are in a temple, I appreciated the food though I still think that japanese breakfast is a bit difficult for our wersten habits... Most of the food is cold , very tasty but cold. The staff is kind but you will not meet them vey often. You can assist to the prayings at seven in the morning and get your breakfast at 7h30 if you wish, you will be served as soon as you arrive in the dining room. The onsen is nice and located near the kitchen, you can speak to the staff at this occasion and see what you will get for dinner. One important thing : the ryokan is at the top of Mont Aguro, at the top of the 2446 steps...You will need one hour of bus (or 40 minutes drive) to reach the beginning of Mont Gasan trail. Be sure you have enough time. We stood there in August and we found the room very hot, there is no air-conditioning, and only two fans were provided. What is missing is may be a convivial room with sofa, chairs where you could read, drink hot coffee and feel comfortable. Hot coffee and hot eggs would be very appreciated for breakfast as well. With regards to the price, towels and a more comfortable futon should be provided. I read the other guests reviews and noticed that even in winter the meals are cold (apart from rice and Miso soup), there is no western style breakfast either.

• Feel like a pilgrim

  Joanna

  Month of Visit: May

  Country Of Reviewer:

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 5

  It was cold, rain, snow in the area and a very special experience. The location was always used by pilgrims to sleep, eat and pray. That is the service still provided. Nothing more and nothing less. And ase it should be. It is true that when you are not Japanese you sit next (behind a screen) to the Japanese guests. Reason is that they give you a bit more comfortable seats. All the rest is the same. Though they could bring more atmosphere to the dining room overall, but the food is good. The fish they serve is seen as part of the mountain for that you may eat it. Thanks to google translate we good the idea behind. We understand they are not in hospitality branche as the focus is on the special Temple. And it is. It is a rare combination of Shinto and Buddhism. You can join the ceremony at 7 am, but through the day more ceremonies are done. Do not feel shy and just join them. Think we did 6 in 2 days! Also it is a nice area to walk. Even when it is raining the trees protect you from the rain. At the pagoda we asked the monks to blow the special horn and they did for use. It is for what the mountain monks are known. Some tips. Be on time and check your room. Normally they do not have many guests and in our case we asked for a bit bigger room. We could pay by visa and they have a vending machine for soda and even beer. You can reach he temple by car.

• Gorgeous temple, dangerous climb, non-vegan food

  Viet tram anh

  Date of Review: February, 2019

  Month of Visit: February

  Country Of Reviewer: Vietnam

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 3

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 4

  Room Rating - 4

  The temple is gorgeous, especially in winter covered in loads of snow. Perfect for some alone time since there should be very few guests around that time. The hike up the 'stairs', or rather the snow covered path, was quite exhausting and slippery as well, be careful about that. There was supposed to be a bus going directly to the temple, but sometimes it doesn't go when there is too much snowfall, apparently. During dinner, we were served a fried fish, which was a huge surprise for me, since I expected a vegan meal. The other dishes were gorgeous nevertheless, a variety of pickles, tempura, salads, soup and rice was served. The lodging was very old but nevertheless had a nice, calming atmosphere, the room well heated and the futons very comfortable, there was an extra tea room next to our 'bedroom', but the building is very old and super cold in winter. The highlight was the morning prayer and the purifying ceremony, after which we finally were handed an info brochure about dewasanzan in English.

• Magical in winter

  Month of Visit: February

  Country Of Reviewer:

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 3

  Staff Rating - 4

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 4

  Apart from two other guests on our first night, we were the only guests in the depths of winter, so it was an unusually quiet experience. But we did come here to get away from the tourist hordes, so that worked great for us. The rooms are living spaces carved out of a potentially large hall divided by shoji sliding doors/walls. Our room was perfectly warm and comfortable as portable heaters were provided, plus lots of hooks to hang up your winter gear. The downside for urbanites is that the corridors are unheated, and there is no hot water in the bathroom sinks. It is not fun to brush your teeth with icy water. Still...it is a monastery, after all, and a couple of days of privation doesn't kill anyone. The meals are fine, the usual mix of hot rice and soup with pre-cooked fish and vegetables. I did find the same formula (ie Japanese style breakfast that is almost identical to the dinner meal) monotonous, and we were there only 2 days. I thought the kitchen crew could have saved themselves some early morning labour, and delighted the guests more, if they could have served some simple hot eggs/toast/coffee etc for breakfast. Or anything else, really. Where austerity comes up against hospitality, austerity tends to win here. The guest entrance, for example, was the unglamorous back kitchen entrance, and it felt odd walking by the guts of the kitchen everyday on your way in and out, and the kerosene supplies were placed right inside the back entrance, which just crowded the narrow entry way. The worst thing is that the back entrance does not have a heated mudroom, so your snowed-up boots would remain icy all through the night. We had been warned by previous reviewers about the towels, so we brought our own, thankfully. They did provide a good set of yukata, and the hot bath was a good respite from the cold. Having said all that, one did get a palpable sense of history here, and the temple itself is unspeakably beautiful. It was a privilege to observe the 7am temple ceremony. The temple grounds, with its ancient trees, had a very special feel. It pulls you to explore the walking paths, and the sense of serenity is everywhere. There was heavy snowfall when we visited, and pristine snow-laden tree branches at every turn. We were advised by the two young men who trekked up the famous steps that it would not be suitable for our 8-year-old, as the snow was so deep you could sink up to your waist if you put your foot in the wrong place. So, we drove down to the bottom, where we hiked maybe 10-15 minutes to reach the 5-tier pagoda. The waterfall and bridge en route was a lovely surprise. If the opportunity arises, I would gladly return in spring or fall.

• Not as great as we expected

  Felix

  Date of Review: October, 2018

  Month of Visit: September

  Country Of Reviewer: France

  Atmosphere Rating - 4

  Food Rating - 2

  Staff Rating - 3

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 3

  What I liked the most about this place, is not the place itself and certainly not the food that was plain and cold, it is the surroundings. Climbing up those stairs among beautiful trees was really great. When we arrive in ryokan, we were happy to see a big temple, very traditional. Atmosphere is great and peacefull.The building is a bit old and so are the rooms. The food seemed to be the best thing about this place, but we were disapointed. It has a nice small onsen, one for men, one for woman, which is nice after the cold night you are gonna spend here. For me it was definitely overpriced, my most expensive stay in japan but not the best one.

• Good for leisure time

  Nur adila

  Month of Visit: July

  Country Of Reviewer: Malaysia

  Atmosphere Rating - 4

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 3

  Location Rating - 4

  Room Rating - 4

  At first I was a little overwhelming looking at the ryokan because it looks very old but still well maintain. Arrived as early as 3pm but nothing much to do in this ryokan accept wandering around at the top of Mount Haguro. A pleseant place to stay and relax with onsen inside. The food is a little bit too much to eat I cannot finish all. The staff do not mind the guest, perhaps that is a good way. Overall, if you want to experience the first time living in ryokan, probably here is the best place to start.

• Not completely satisfied

  Andrea

  Date of Review: July, 2018

  Month of Visit: July

  Country Of Reviewer:

  Atmosphere Rating - 4

  Food Rating - 3

  Staff Rating - 3

  Location Rating - 4

  Room Rating - 3

  The location is a perfect spot if you wanna split the visit to the three mountain. Our plane landed in Shonai at noon and we decided to do the first path to Haguro then stop for the night and complete the second and third path the day after. The temple is on the top of the mt. Haguro, connected internally with the main temple and far 5 minutes from the bus stop that conduce pilgrims on 8th station of the mt. Gassan where start the path climb to the 2nd temple. First point of disappointment: I do not understand why the arrival time to 5 PM is so stricted when the dinner is served at 6 PM and most of that is cold and pre-prepared. We've completed the first path in hurry with the anxiety to be on time but after the check-in (few minutes) we waited 1 hours in our room for the dinner (served in a commune space). Arrived in the commune space for dinner we've noticed that all the western guests was arranged in the right side of the room with regular table despite the traditional table on floor of the other japanese guests, separated with a booth. Why? Second disappointment: During the dinner a man (monk?) gave to the japanese speaking people a long explanation that we don't understood, and after has come to us trying to explain the same with a very poorly english. The only thing we have understood was: come here tomorrow at 7 for the ceremony in the temple. The day afer we followed the instruction and at 7 sharp we were at the point but a woman accompanied us to the table for the breakfast (already prepared on the table). We had the suspicious that something was wrong because some of the guest wasn't there and some breakfasts was still intact. We ate our breakfast quicky and moved to the temple we've discovered that the guests were there for the purify ceremony that was almost gone and this pissed me off very much. I do not pretend to find a perfect english speaking in a place like that (I'm not a perfect english speaking person too) but for important details like that maybe a piece of paper with the istruction clearly explained can be helpful.

• Relaxing night in Haguro sancho

  Mariela

  Date of Review: August, 2017

  Month of Visit: August

  Country Of Reviewer: ITALY

  Atmosphere Rating - 5

  Food Rating - 5

  Staff Rating - 5

  Location Rating - 5

  Room Rating - 4

  We decided to visit the Dewa Sanzan area and go the Haguro san cho the first day, stay at the Ryokan the night and the day after go to Gas-san and Yudono san. The Ryokan is nice and the food is very good. The location is very quite and close to the temple area. The only suggestion for improvement is the possibility of providing guests with towels. In fact towels can only be rented and not available in the room.