Enryakuji Kaikan

I would have said that we had a wonderful stay: loved the peaceful environment, the food, the morning service…. But then they started the morning with a team of workers going through the temple grounds with deafening leaf blowing machines! Why do they disturb the peace like this? The temple claims to be environmentally conscious, but these machines are noisy, irritating, wasteful and bad for the environment. It made me leave the place in a bed mood.

This restaurant is located on the second floor of the hotel. Their hours are limited 11:30-2 pm and they only accept reservations for groups at this time. The vegetarian set I ordered was really delicious. There was a little hot pot with soft tofu and other veggies as well as several small side dishes and a soup. Everything tasted fresh and was well-seasoned. I was surprised by how full I was with this meal. The views from the restaurant are beautiful but it was quite foggy when we came. I still loved how serene it felt being on the mountain. *** Tip: take the train to Hieizan Sakamoto St., then take taxi to Sakamoto Cable Car Station or walk 25 minutes, then take cable car to the top. The cable car is the longest in Japan.