Had heard so much about Koyasan, was so looking forward to it , journey and all. The travel from Osaka comprised of a 2 hour train journey followed by a 7 min cable car ride that goes up 900m - one of the most steepest cable car rides in the world, followed by a bus ride into town.
Started my way through the town's various temples and shrines - beautiful structures with lots of history and good energy vibes flowing through them. Most of the structures had been destroyed by fire ( lightning?) at multiple times in the past and were rebuilt following the same specs, as much as possible.
My favorite points were the daimon which was further most away from town in one direction and the cemetery , which was further most at the other extreme.
At daimon, there were steps leading to a hike up the mountain which was very quiet, undisturbed and serene, with the only signs in Japanese. So I had no idea where I was headed but kept following one bend after the other as curiosity got the better of me. At one point , I saw a sign saying 'Beware of Bears' and almost turned around but the temptation to see what was up there was too much. So I kept going and going... And in reward, there was a small shrine at the top after which the trail crossed the mountain towards the other side, so i reluctantly turned back.
There was also this circuitous route to a temple that used to be for women only back in the day when women were not allowed inside the daimon. It was a pretty shrine with lots of colorful scarves decorated around it. Apparently you can ask for one wish there - and I sure did ;)
The other end of town was this cemetery that held 20000 tombs and also the mausoleum of a Buddhist saint who is said to have attained enlightenment after learning Buddhism from China and spreading the word in koyasan and around Japan. The walk through the cemetery was quiet, peaceful and had an air of wonder and respect around it as you passed through all the tombs, now covered with grass and moss, some Buddha statues in a range of emotions, a pile of Buddhas in the shape of a mountain, even a space ship for some reason I couldn't discern.
The mausoleum was beautiful and had thousands of lanterns lit , a few of them said to be burning since the passing of the saint. The lanterns were all in a dark underground passageway, making the lights of it shine around the darkened corridors illuminating the countless miniature Buddhas etched into shelves along the corridor. What a sight.
Onward to my royakan stay in a temple. Had a shower , followed by a bath in the indoor onsen and into a yukata (Japanese summer robe) . And the priest asked me if I wanted a drink with dinner - asahi, sake? And I was so stunned at the sacrilege of drinking in a temple for a full minute before I responded with a 'yes, sake please'. I was looking forward to the temple food - vegetarian shojin ryori which was said to be scrumptious. Suffice to say, I did my best to sample everything but did not care much about the texture , taste and smell of the marinated or pickled or boiled soggy vegetables. Guess I'll never make a monk in this lifetime at least.
I did have some fresh green tea though and not sure if it was that which kept me awake most of the night or just some belated jet lag or the spider i had spied in the balcony earlier in the evening.
Started my way through the town's various temples and shrines - beautiful structures with lots of history and good energy vibes flowing through them. Most of the structures had been destroyed by fire ( lightning?) at multiple times in the past and were rebuilt following the same specs, as much as possible.
My favorite points were the daimon which was further most away from town in one direction and the cemetery , which was further most at the other extreme.
At daimon, there were steps leading to a hike up the mountain which was very quiet, undisturbed and serene, with the only signs in Japanese. So I had no idea where I was headed but kept following one bend after the other as curiosity got the better of me. At one point , I saw a sign saying 'Beware of Bears' and almost turned around but the temptation to see what was up there was too much. So I kept going and going... And in reward, there was a small shrine at the top after which the trail crossed the mountain towards the other side, so i reluctantly turned back.
There was also this circuitous route to a temple that used to be for women only back in the day when women were not allowed inside the daimon. It was a pretty shrine with lots of colorful scarves decorated around it. Apparently you can ask for one wish there - and I sure did ;)
The other end of town was this cemetery that held 20000 tombs and also the mausoleum of a Buddhist saint who is said to have attained enlightenment after learning Buddhism from China and spreading the word in koyasan and around Japan. The walk through the cemetery was quiet, peaceful and had an air of wonder and respect around it as you passed through all the tombs, now covered with grass and moss, some Buddha statues in a range of emotions, a pile of Buddhas in the shape of a mountain, even a space ship for some reason I couldn't discern.
The mausoleum was beautiful and had thousands of lanterns lit , a few of them said to be burning since the passing of the saint. The lanterns were all in a dark underground passageway, making the lights of it shine around the darkened corridors illuminating the countless miniature Buddhas etched into shelves along the corridor. What a sight.
Onward to my royakan stay in a temple. Had a shower , followed by a bath in the indoor onsen and into a yukata (Japanese summer robe) . And the priest asked me if I wanted a drink with dinner - asahi, sake? And I was so stunned at the sacrilege of drinking in a temple for a full minute before I responded with a 'yes, sake please'. I was looking forward to the temple food - vegetarian shojin ryori which was said to be scrumptious. Suffice to say, I did my best to sample everything but did not care much about the texture , taste and smell of the marinated or pickled or boiled soggy vegetables. Guess I'll never make a monk in this lifetime at least.
I did have some fresh green tea though and not sure if it was that which kept me awake most of the night or just some belated jet lag or the spider i had spied in the balcony earlier in the evening.
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