Snowy Buddhist mountain town – Koyasan Day 1

Koyasan is a secluded town south of Osaka, full of temples for people to stay in and view. I went here last week and had one of my holidays in Japan. This UNESCO World Heritage site is so stunning in the winter. Day 2 report can be found here. Here are some highlights from my trip:

 Taking the cable car up the mountain.

 This is probably the kind of place that you would stay at in Koyasan, in temple lodgings.

The entrance to Okunoin Temple and graveyard.

Messages for the dead…..

It’s a decent walk through the graveyard to the temple at the end.

Making our way up from the main entrance.

The main entrance to Okunoin Temple.  Inside you can see monks praying and singing.

These golden lanterns were everywhere.  There were also golden ornaments inside and outside in the praying area.

One of the little buildings inside the temple complex.

So my first day in Koyasan was lots of fun, and the above is only a fraction of what you can see in the area.  More soon!

Day 2 report can be found here. Koyasan can be found in my Super Cheap Japan guidebook, available on paperback and as an ebook.