WAKAYAMA (TR) – Multiple religious corporations operating temple lodgings at the World Heritage site of Mount Koya have been busted for failing to declare over 100 million yen in income, regional tax authorities have revealed, reports Nippon News Network (Sep. 11).
The Osaka Regional Taxation Bureau found that several temples running shukubo (traditional temple lodgings) severely underreported their earnings during the last fiscal year. While income generated from religious activities—such as donations and alms—is completely tax-exempt under Japanese law, revenue raked in from the hotel and hospitality business is strictly taxable.
Following the probe, the offending religious corporations were slapped with 60 million yen in back taxes and penalties.
Shingon Buddhism
Mount Koya, the 1,200-year-old sacred epicenter of Shingon Buddhism, has become a massive draw for overseas visitors, bringing in 117,000 foreign tourists last year alone. Many flock to the mountain’s 117 temples expecting a traditional ascetic experience of vegetarian meals, sutra copying, and morning meditation.
However, investigators revealed that some of these once-humble monk quarters have quietly morphed into highly lucrative luxury resorts.
One of the temples singled out in the tax probe is Sojiin. According to the temple’s online reservation system, rooms are nearly booked solid for the next month, despite eye-watering prices. A single night for two adults frequently exceeds 120,000 yen, with peak days demanding over 150,000 yen — rates rivaling Japan’s most elite five-star hotels.
Foreign tourists
According to the Koyasan Shukubo Association, a night’s stay with two meals cost a modest 7,000 yen roughly 40 years ago. Today, fueled by government tourism subsidies introduced post-COVID, many lodgings have undergone rapid “luxury-ification” to cash in on the arrival of wealthy foreign tourists.
When confronted by reporters on Tuesday night, a male employee at Sojiin played dumb. “I’ve never heard anything about failing to declare income. I wouldn’t know. I just work hard,” he said.
A woman who stayed at Sojiin four years ago — when rooms were a more reasonable 20,000 to 30,000 yen — expressed disappointment over the greed overshadowing the sacred site. “I hope they file their taxes properly so that people who genuinely want to experience a shukubo can do so with peace of mind,” she said.
“Failure to declare”
When pressed on the issue of hiding income from their lucrative hospitality business, Sojiin eventually confessed to the allegations.
“It is true that there was a failure to declare our income,” the temple stated. “We have already paid the owed amount.”
