kyoto temple lodging

Is anyone familiar w/these temple lodgings in Kyoto (which according to www.3.tky.3web..ne.jp/~edjacob/kyoto.html are the ones that have English speakers):
Shoho-in
Hiden-in
Shinnyo Sanso
I know there are more temples to choose from at Mt. Koya area but we will need the temple lodging to be in Kyoto and prefer to have English spoken.
Anyone stayed at any of these?

I'd just like to second the request: the site you posted was the only one I found with details as well, and I'd like to find a shukubo that I could book from the States.

Thanks in advance...

I found this site as well:

http://www.kcif.or.jp/en/benri/04_08.html

Does anyone have any experience at Hiden-In, Torin-In, or Daishin-In? Also - sites have said that youth hostels are operated out of some of these temples - anybody know anything about these?

Before coming to Japan I actually made reservations (and recieved confirmation) at Myoken-ji in Kyoto, but when I arrived, they turned me away. So I walked 5min to Myoren-ji, another temple in the area that offered lodging and had a wonderful experience. It's listed in many of the guidebooks, and I originally didn't choose it because it does not have bathing facilities on-site, but the local sento (Japanese public bath) is just a block away, and going to the public bath is definitely a fun experience.

Wasn't any problems with communications over there ? As in remarks about Myorenji it is written - "No English."

I spent a few nites at Daishin-in 2 years ago a part of a larger group. Little if any english was spoken. Beautiful temple on Myoshin-ji grounds. Shabby bath. Nice small dry garden.

I'm just starting to explore options for a trip to Japan I'm making in July - can someone please tell me about staying in temples? How does it differ from staying in a traditional Japanese-style inn?

I don't know about English (I speak some Japanese), but I stayed there about fifteen years ago (it's a couple hundred years old so I doubt it's changed a lot) and I just **loved** it. If I remember right, it's on a convenient bus line, but Kyoto is pretty small and easy to navigate anyway (compared to Tokyo at least).

I would say don't worry about not speaking Japanese, but try to be clean and quiet as you would when staying in any religious building (tracking mud in on a rainy day did NOT go over well! nobody said anything but their faces were a sight!), and you'll be fine.

Also, this may have changed but when I stayed there I don't think there was any Western breakfast, so if you eat here, be prepared for a small adventure. A real, traditional Japanese breakfast includes things like cold fish and raw eggs. (You could just eat rice & pickes, but try it--you might be surprised--raw eggs mixed with soy sauce and eaten with rice & seaweed is actually incredibly delicious!)

Don't worry, no such sense of adventure is required for the rest of the experience. The room was quiet and clean, and if I remember right there was a blossoming tree outside my window (I was there in April). I don't know if there was any air conditioning, though....

We slept in the HIden-in Temple in the east of Kyoto. A very nice, friendly, clean and quiet place indeed (with big rooms for the small price). We attended the morning prayer service at 7 oclock which was an interesting experience. A small temple but more intimate than the big temples shukubos I guess. Great !