Hotel Cultia Dazaifu, 3-star hotel with a great accommodation is located in Dazaifu in the Fukuoka region, a 3-minute walk from Dazaifu Tenmangu.
The Tenmangu shrine on Kyushu island may be a destination for Shinto pilgrims, but it is often overlooked by travellers. More’s the pity – here’s a spot that allows visitors to connect with nature and deepen their understanding of Buddhism in ways that temple-hopping on the beaten paths never could.
A 30-minute train ride from Fukuoka, the 3,000-acre complex of 10th- and 16th-century shrines, ponds and cedar forests peppered with 6,000 plum trees is said to house Tenjin, the patron deity of learning, and it is a place of regular exhibitions, meditation classes and architecture tours. At the end of last year, this four-room hotel opened directly across the street. The tile-roofed structure falls somewhere between a ryokan and a shukubo lodge: a modern sanctuary with traditional touches and guided morning worship. It’s the former residence of the Yoshitsugu family, whose paintings and scrolls still decorate doors and walls. Rooms are connected by outdoor stone paths screened off by sheer linen noren, some with private gardens of moss, stone lanterns and seasonal flowers such as fringed lilies. Vaulted ceilings, meticulously sanded floors and undecorated wood-panelling create a cabin-like quality.
The lack of visual distraction is soothing, although there are distinct notes of modernity in Danish chairs and plenty of charging points. But time moves slowly here. Slide apart the fusuma windows to listen to the peals of the Bonsho bell, the oldest in the country. Then book a table at the French-fusion restaurant to settle in with plates of sauteed red gurnard or salted Itoshima pork. It’s a decadent alternative stay and a reminder that enlightenment isn’t always about going without.
Location : 3 Chome-3-33 Saifu, Dazaifu, Fukuoka 818-0117, Japan
Phone : +81 120-210-289