Antai-ji, Zen Buddhist temple in Shin'onsen, Japan
Antai-ji is a Zen temple on a forested mountain slope near the Sea of Japan with simple wooden buildings for meditation and lodging. The grounds include rice paddies, vegetable gardens, and paths winding through the surrounding forest.
Scholars founded this place in 1924 in Kyoto as a study center for Buddhist texts. The community moved to this remote mountain area in the 1960s after the city grew around the original site.
The name combines characters meaning peace, stillness, and temple, reflected in the monks' quiet daily routine. Visitors experience a clear rhythm of sitting in the meditation hall, physical work in the fields, and shared meals without conversation.
Access follows a narrow mountain road that remains passable in summer. Heavy snowfall often closes the road in winter for several months, so visiting between May and October works best.
The monks bake their own bread in a handmade wood-fired oven and make miso from soybeans grown on the temple fields. Life here follows the rhythm of the seasons without electric heating in the meditation halls.
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