Japanese temples are offering their facilities as tourist accommodation, an initiative aimed at wooing foreigners to rural Japan.
Many Buddhist temples in Japan are struggling with falling numbers of parishioners, a declining local economy and falling incomes. The initiative could turn their fortunes around.
Temples often have space which is ideal for accommodation. Many are at the center of the local community, occupying a large tract of land with a spacious garden. They have rooms for apprentice monks and provide linen and boarding for them. But they have rarely been used for tourism or for any business activity, because of tight regulations.
Japanese startup Wa-Qoo thinks it can change that. It sees an opportunity in the new home-sharing law which came into force last month that allows private residences and other non-commercial facilities to be used as accommodation, as long as they are registered with the local authorities.
Osaka-based Wa-Qoo said it is teaming up with Japanese e-commerce operator Rakuten and the Netherlands-based travel booking site Booking.com to bring more tourists to the country's temples.
The room-sharing law allows property owners to offer lodging services without fully complying with onerous hotel regulations, such as the provision of a lobby with a receptionist and an extensive fire safety system.
