In the past couple of updates, I’d mentioned how this trip in some regards was about polar opposites.
After two nights of hanging out in video game bars and a maid cafe with Nintendo-inspired decor, it only seemed natural that my next destination was Koyasan.
About 90 mins south of Osaka lies Koyasan. Resting atop a mountain, Koyasan is about as literal a step backward in time one could hope to achieve with the apt use of such a clumsy phrase to describe something that could easily just be referred to as ‘old’.
The train ride out there looks a little something like this…
..for the better part of an hour or so, which is nice and pretty and keeps you going ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ occasionally. These are areas you probably would never see if you weren’t travelling to Koyasan, though, so drink in the views should you ever take the trip. I even stopped writing in my journal after the first 10 minutes.
After the train ride, you have to take an awkward-angle cable car for about 5-10 minutes, then a bus for another 20 minutes or so to reach Koyasan itself. When I say awkward-angle, the cable car is sitting on what seems to be about a 55-degree slant, meaning you kind of feel like you’re about to tip over the top of the seat you’re sitting in. There’s warning signs in just about every language you can imagine and ones you have probably tried to imagine.
One thing I forgot to mention up to this point was the trouble I was having purchasing a ticket for the train/cable car/bus. Now, the attendant kept pointing to the ticket price of 3,300Y to which I agreed upon. Then he’d run up a bill for 16,650Y, which I did not agree with. So I tried querying in what limited Japanese I could scrape together to figure out why there was such a discrepancy between what he was pointing at and what he was charging me. Eventually I ended up saying ‘cheap ticket’ and got a return ticket for less than 3,300Y. It was quite an odd and bewildering situation because it seemed like no matter what I did or said, he was pushing me towards paying 16,650Y.
Back to Koyasan.
The town itself is largely made up of shrines and temples and is the start and end point of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It’s a beautiful town but you don’t really need to spend much more than a day there.
I lashed out for this visit and stayed at the Shojoshin-in Buddhist temple. Upon checking in, my limited Japanese won my insta-points with the monks. I’m assuming this is because the bulk of the people that stay at the temple are tourists. But I’ll get back to my insta-points a bit later.
Polar opposites – drunk as a skunk in Osaka to staying in a Buddhist temple.
One thing I found puzzling about staying in a Buddhist temple was the fact that they had wi-fi. It was a nice bonus to have, though, as much of my night was spent relaxing, writing and catching up with some friends online.
I also had the most amazing vegetarian food while I was staying there that was prepared by the monks themselves.
To make you all insanely jealous, I decided to take a picture of it.
Shout-outs to the tempura vegetables, sesame tofu and enlightened jelly (top right-hand side). Spoiler alert: The jelly isn’t really enlightened, but it was made by monks, so it damn well should be.
Also, I have a feeling my insta-points won earlier with the monks led to me getting an awesome view for dinner.
Did I mention that you have your very own private dining room for both breakfast and dinner?
How very fancy schmancy indeed.
The main reason I would suggest to anyone to visit Koyasan is to visit the Buddhist graveyard, Okunion. There’s something crazy like 200,000 tombstones there. There’s about a 2km walk to reach the resting place of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. When you reach that area, you’re not allowed to take photos at all, even of the outside and surrounding areas of the mausoleum.
I believe that the graveyard itself covers about 4km. There are a number of side paths and other areas to explore should you feel like doing so, leading you to some picturesque resting places that seem like they haven’t been touched in centuries.
The walking path itself is lined with massive cedar trees and the time I spent exploring Okunoin was easily one of the most serene experiences I’ve had in Japan.
The whole place has a very ‘Spirited Away’ feel to it. Each tombstone has its own story to tell. While I was walking around, I often encountered generations of families stopping at some of the smaller sites to pay respect to their ancestors.
As you can tell from this next picture, space and landscape design are not high on their priority list.
But that’s part of what makes Okunoin such an experience. I spent somewhere in the vicinity of three hours just browsing around and soaking in the somewhat morbid atmosphere. There’s a number of famous Japanese warlords buried at Okunoin from the early Edo period – Date Masamune and Oda Nobunaga to name but a few.
While I was walking around Koyasan, an elderly man stopped me to have a conversation.
“Excuse me, where are you from?”
“I’m from Melbourne, Australia.”
“Ah, Australia. Great Barrier Reef. Kangaroos. Koalas.”
“Yes. Whereabouts are you from?”
“I am from Shikoku island.”
“Oh, cool. The pilgrimage.”
“Yes. Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
Brief conversations with nice people is hard to come by in Melbourne, but this is not the case in Japan. Just about every day on my travels over there I had conversations like this and it’s something I miss now being back in Melbourne.
Next time – Kyoto and the Infinite Intoxication.