The next stop was Koyasan. We weren't sure even just a few days before whether we would make it up to this little mountain of joy as it was quite a journey to get there from Kyoto (four hours on three trains, a funicular up the mountain then a bus) but it was absolutely 100% worth it.
The legend goes that hundreds of years ago (in the 8th century) a very spiritual chap called Kobo Daishi was on the hunt for a place to set up a Buddhist retreat. After years of studying and searching in China, he awoke out of a particularly long and deep period of meditation and found himself at the bottom of a great mountain in Japan where a local goddess with a black and a white dog took him to the peak of Mount Koya. It is nestled below eight peaks which imitated the petals of a lotus and his mind was made up. He received permission from the Emperor of Japan, opened a school to teach Shinden Buddhism, built lots of temples and the rest is history as they say. So following the great and awe-inspiring read ups, it felt only right that we blend in with the resident monks and spend a night in one of the fifty-two temples on the mountain open to visitors. It's very high up (900m above sea level, double The Peak in Hong Kong) so it's COLD. And the temples you stay in are COLD. The only place that is warm is under Japan's most fabulous invention - the kotatsu. Basically, a table with a heater on the underside and a duvet wrapped around the edge. I would have slept under it if I could. It was discussed. Briefly. The temples seem to vary in range so we opted for somewhere in the middle with Jimyo-in. We did our usual and booked the day before via JapaniCan as the temples aren't available on Agoda and few have English websites. We were to be served a traditional Buddhist meal (all vegan without even onions or garlic) at 5.45pm. It was delicious, a little more tofu than we'd usually go for but if it's good enough for the monks... Anyway, we read somewhere that the mountain's highlight, Okunuin Cemetery is pretty cool and a little spooky at night so post-dinner, off we went. They were right, the huge pines loomed above us in the shadows, the occasional shrine illuminated by the pockets of candlelight lining the path. It was magical. Couldn't wait to see it in the daylight. 6.30am wake up for prayers, in a -8C temple. To be honest I was expecting a sea of monks chanting away, sadly it was just the one but it was intimate and special nonetheless. If you like trees, you'll love Okunoin. Hundred year old pine trees surround the tiny path of pilgrimage that meanders through the forest, some taller than your eye can see and there are more shrines than I could count! I've never been a spiritual person but this place could turn me! The most impressive were the stacked, five stone shaped columns that looked like they had somehow grown out of the earth and were often cloaked in that lovely green moss. The five stones represent the cornerstones of Buddhism; water, wind, fire, earth and space. There were also hundreds of statues with what looked like children's bibs tied round them, which we later learnt were dedications to children lost. The whole walk to the revered Kobo Daishi's mausoleum where he is said to still be alive but in deep meditation (they even bring him fresh food twice a day!), and then back to the town took us around 1hr 30, but we were constantly stopping to take photos despite the aura and greatness of this magnificent place making it near impossible to capture. Comments are closed.
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AuthorsRob & Charlie's travelling adventures on their long journey back to London after living in Hong Kong. Four continents, twelve countries, lots of experiences. Archives
July 2017
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Robert Ware & Charlotte Nunn |