Koyasan, or Mt Koya, is the center of Shingon Buddhism. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We choose to visit Koyasan and stay overnight at a traditional shukubo (temple lodging) and get a taste of a monk's lifestyle, eating shojin ryori (vegetarian monk's cuisine) and attending the morning prayers.
Getting to Koyasan is not easy, but it is worth it. As we are travelling from Hiroshima, we first catch the Shinkansen to Osaka. From there, it's a mass of underground tunnels to get to the right train station - Namba Station - to catch the Nankai Line. If you're planning to go, note that the Nankai Lines are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
We travel approximately another 2 hours to get to Gokurakubashi, where it's a final transfer to a funicular to get to the top. Then of course there's a bus to get to our accommodation. All in all a long trip, but when you're relaxing and not in a rush to get anywhere, it's a pleasant ride all the way.
We are staying at Henjoko-in Temple. It quiet and feels isolated when we arrive. We are greeted by an apprentice who shows us to our (massive) room. We leave our items and head out for a quick feed.
After filling our tummies, it's time to explore the area and we head for Okunoin - a beautiful and ancient cemetery on the mountain. Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. It is believed that he did not actually die, but rather waits in eternal meditation for Miroku Nyorai, the Buddha of the Future. Okunoin is one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot. Its cemetery is the largest in Japan with over 200,000 tombstones alone the 2 km long walk to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.
We walk along a straight path that's lined on each side by moss covered grave markings and what feel like centuries-old trees. We pass hundreds of graves and are interested to see corporate sponsored plots, which are presumably saved for employees.
This peaceful path is beautiful at dusk, with the lanterns at the temple near the end of the path, shining brightly. The following are some of the pictures we took on the path, though photos are the mausoleum are forbidden.
After our stroll, we return to the temple for a bath before dinner. As you might expect, Japanese temple baths (onsens) are a little different to Western bathrooms. We enter our respective (gender separated) onsens and are each greeted with a thermal heated bath in the corner and a series of small plastic seats in front of mirrors that evoke feelings of going to the hairdresser. Overcoming our discomfort with public nudity in these shared spaces, we wash ourselves (as quickly as possible) then get ready for dinner.
Dinner is served in a separate private dining room and is made up of a wide variety of tiny vegetarian dishes. Some of the dishes were more appealing than others and many we couldn't identify, but we were certainly full by the end of the meal.
We wake early the next morning to observe the monks in their morning meditations. We are guided to an incense-smoke filled, dimly lit room, and are asked to kneel behind the several monks. The monks soon begin a melodious, rhythmic chanting which is almost hypnotic. For respect, we aren't allowed to take any photos or videos but here's something we found on YouTube (likely not to be in the same temple but this gives you a good idea of the experience).
After listening to the intoxicating sounds of monks chanting for several minutes we're given a tour of the prayer rooms, where a monk tries to patiently explain their history in English. We're pretty sure we only understood about 50% of what he's saying.
After a vegetarian breakfast, it's time for us to board the funicular for the trip back down the mountain.
Getting to Koyasan is not easy, but it is worth it. As we are travelling from Hiroshima, we first catch the Shinkansen to Osaka. From there, it's a mass of underground tunnels to get to the right train station - Namba Station - to catch the Nankai Line. If you're planning to go, note that the Nankai Lines are not covered by the Japan Rail Pass.
We travel approximately another 2 hours to get to Gokurakubashi, where it's a final transfer to a funicular to get to the top. Then of course there's a bus to get to our accommodation. All in all a long trip, but when you're relaxing and not in a rush to get anywhere, it's a pleasant ride all the way.
Riding the funicular to get to Koyasan
Map of Koyasan - larger than we were expecting.
We are staying at Henjoko-in Temple. It quiet and feels isolated when we arrive. We are greeted by an apprentice who shows us to our (massive) room. We leave our items and head out for a quick feed.
The Henjoko-in Template gate from the inside; Tim sitting at the inner temple entrance, feeling small.
After filling our tummies, it's time to explore the area and we head for Okunoin - a beautiful and ancient cemetery on the mountain. Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. It is believed that he did not actually die, but rather waits in eternal meditation for Miroku Nyorai, the Buddha of the Future. Okunoin is one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot. Its cemetery is the largest in Japan with over 200,000 tombstones alone the 2 km long walk to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.
We walk along a straight path that's lined on each side by moss covered grave markings and what feel like centuries-old trees. We pass hundreds of graves and are interested to see corporate sponsored plots, which are presumably saved for employees.
This peaceful path is beautiful at dusk, with the lanterns at the temple near the end of the path, shining brightly. The following are some of the pictures we took on the path, though photos are the mausoleum are forbidden.
Check out the size of those trees. Can you spot Tim?
We wake early the next morning to observe the monks in their morning meditations. We are guided to an incense-smoke filled, dimly lit room, and are asked to kneel behind the several monks. The monks soon begin a melodious, rhythmic chanting which is almost hypnotic. For respect, we aren't allowed to take any photos or videos but here's something we found on YouTube (likely not to be in the same temple but this gives you a good idea of the experience).
After listening to the intoxicating sounds of monks chanting for several minutes we're given a tour of the prayer rooms, where a monk tries to patiently explain their history in English. We're pretty sure we only understood about 50% of what he's saying.
After a vegetarian breakfast, it's time for us to board the funicular for the trip back down the mountain.
Buddhist vegetarian breakfast
Time to say goodbye and depart on another ride on the funicular
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