Koyasan: Exploring the sacred mountain and an overnight Bhuddist temple stay

When I returned to Japan, visiting Koyasan was on the top of my list. Then Typhoon Jebi hit. The typhoon wreaked billions of dollars of damage across Japan. one of the casaulties of the typhoon was the cablecar leading up to Koyasan. At first, I figured that the reservation I’d made months in advance for our temple stay–or shukubo–would be outright canceled.

However, we were lucky. Koyasan itself seemed to have been spared much of the damage surrounding areas had suffered. While we couldn’t take the cablecar up from Osaka-Namba station, buses began running to take people up from the station to Koyasan. What should have been a one hour journey turned into one that was over twice as long with some rather lengthy waits.

Was the extra time worth it?

Absolutely.

While the journey was long, the wait was worth it. Being a part of Koyasan is a chance to slow down and live in the moment. The sound of the gentle breeze brushing through the cedar trees and the peaceful chirp of songbirds helps transport you to a different place, literally and metaphorically.

Koyasan–or Mount Koya–is the birthplace of Shingon Bhuddism. Wandering Koyasan, you cannot help but admire the melding of nature and spirituality. Intricately carved decorations adorning temples, moss-covered grave-markers in a serene cemetery, and lush gardens that inspire a touch of inner peace suck you into this unique and powerful landscape.

While some people visit Koyasan on a day trip, I cannot express how much better it is to spend at least one night there. To see the sights, you only need the night. But if you find yourself at a point in life where you could use a chance to meditate and bring a little peace to your thoughts, you could certainly spend longer. We spent a night at Ekoin temple, participating in a meditation class, eating vegetarian monk cuisine, watching a fire ceremony, wandering temple grounds, and rising early in the morning to witness the morning prayers.

Every experience added on the last. So by the time I had to take that uncomfortable and lengthy trip down from peaceful Koyasan to chaotic Tokyo, I really didn’t mind. I was still soaking in my Koyasan experience.

Afternoon

We chose Ekoin temple for our overnight temple stay because of its fantastic reviews. While it isn’t the cheapest of the temples, it’s also not the most expensive. It offered comfortable accomodations and most importantly, many of the activities we participates were based out of the temple.

After the long trip from Kyoto to Koyasan, we were shown to our room and dropped off our luggage. We took the early afternoon to explore the town. Most importantly, we spent a couple hours exploring kongobuji (the head temple of Shingon Bhuddism) and Okunoin cemetery where the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi is. Kobo Daishi is the founder of Shingon Bhuddism. It’s absolutely important to visit the mausoleum during the day for a couple of reasons.

First, you can only enter the mausoleum during the daytime hours. Second, the cemetery itself is alive in soft light and lush green vegetation. It’s quiet and tranquil to explore. During the day, it has a decidedly different character than when exploring it at night. You’ll want both experiences to truly soak in the atmosphere.

At 4:30 pm, we returned to Ekoin and participated in an ajikan meditation class led by a young monk. It was a perfect way to begin the late afternoon. The class is also open for guests from other temple stays, so don’t feel left out if you don’t spend the night at Ekoin. We spent some more time afterward resting around the temple before dinner.

Dinner itself was a fantastic experience. All these little dishes of vegetarian fare with a medley of unique of unique flavors waited for us. One thing I regret is that I didn’t spend much time truly capturing any great images of the food, but hey, that means if you go, you’ll be more surprised by the variety of tastes, textures, and colors.

Night

Later, we went back out in front of the temple to meet our guide for the night tour of Okunoin cemetery. Again, the night tour of Okunoin is open for guests outside of Ekoin, but check with the temple to make sure you get signed up for the tour so you don’t miss out. This is an experience you don’t want to miss.

Our young guide took us through the cemetery. He clearly enjoyed taking us around, making jokes and having a good time with all the guests. We made our way through the cemetery as he gave us insight into Bhuddism, the history of Koyasan, and so much more.

Soft light glowed from the lanterns lining the paths. The cemetery had taken on a haunting appearance. It was a striking contrast to the atmosphere we felt earlier in the day. I cannot recommend visiting Okunoin at night enough.

When we wound our way back to our temple stay, our futons had already been made up. It was a surprisingly comfortable sleep.

Which was especially important because the next day started off frighteningly early for me.

(Early) Morning

We woke up before six in the morning to attend the first of our morning activities: the fire ritual. Again, from what I understand, this isn’t an activity every temple stay offers (in fact, I think our temple stay was the only one to offer this). But it was one I would not miss if you’re able to join in. Monks chant as they burn wooden plaques with prayers on them to scorch away negative energy.

Afterwards, we attending the morning otsutome ceremony. Incense filled the air in the temple as the monks’ chanting thrummed through our ears. A perfect way to prepare yourself for the day.

Following the ceremony, we were served breakfast in our room. We had a chance to pack up our belongings and explore town some more, visiting some other temples and sights nearby. Ekoin is perfectly located to allow for convenient location, which was yet another benefit to being there. We left that morning, taking the bus down to Osaka to catch the shinkansen, feeling just a bit lighter and calmer.

Getting There

The most straightforward way possible is to get there by car. But most people (like ourselves) won’t be renting a car or taking long taxis in Japan.

So if you’re taking the train, the best way to get there is from either the Namba or Shin-Imaya station in Osaka. You can either take one of the few trains directly to Gokurakubashi Station or make a transfer at Hashimoto to get there.

At Gokurakubashi, you take the cablecar followed by a short bus ride into Koyasan.

Final Tips

• Certainly check out Okunoin Temple and Cemetery during the day and night. They are two very different and absolutely worthwhile experiences.
• You can explore the cemetery and Okunoin Temple on your own during the day; at night, it’s absolutely worth taking the night tour with a monk guide
• Some people may say you can do this as a day trip, but we highly recommend spending the night in Koyasan. Like we wrote above, it’s definitely a different experience and the whole point of being in Koyasan is to slow down and be present. Can’t be present if you have to rush through it all!
• You can find a variety of prices when it comes to temple stays. It’s worth doing a little investigation on Booking.com and Trip Advisor to find the ones that speak to you in terms of grounds, sleeping arrangements, and more. For example, some have showers to get clean; others rely on a traditional onsen bath which may operate only during limited hours.
• You may be tempted to sleep in after a long journey getting to Koyasan and hiking around the previous day, but definitely get up early to do the fire ceremonies and early morning chanting and prayer.
• You can book many of the temples ahead of time using Booking.com or Agoda.com. For all the options (there are around fifty), you can directly book even more via the Koyasan Shukubo Association.
• We liked our stay at Ekoin. The grounds were lovely, the food was good, and the location was great, close to Okunoin. Plus, the night tour starts here and if you’re staying here, you automatically get to take it (at least during our stay). The meditation class, fire ceremony, and morning prayers Ekoin offered all were engaging, interesting, and as peaceful as you could hope.