When researching Japan, I was absolutely enchanted by the photos I came across of Koyasan, a scared Buddhist retreat high up in the mountains south of Osaka. The images of ancient, mossy covered gravestones with beautiful cedar trees towering above were simply breathtaking! I thought maybe if I could coincide a stay there with my birthday, I could justify adding it to the itinerary. :)
However, overall it was a bit of a logistical nightmare to get to Koyasan and Braino would 100% agree that it really should have been done as trip from Osaka, not Kyoto. It involved a lot trains from Kyoto via Osaka, ending in a vertical cable car train that went up the side of the mountain and then a bus into town from the cable car station. It was the sort of journey that was hard to plan via google maps. But once we got started, everything was well connected and flowed smoothly.
Braino has adopted the role of ‘navigator’, he’s the one interpreting google maps and directing us through train stations onto the right train platforms and keeping track of when to get off the trains. He liked to be in control and I’m happy to go along for the ride at this point. It’s easier having one person in charge because if there was two of us looking at google maps, there is a high chance we’d be looking at two different options ( as there is so many train lines and trip variations ) and no doubt we’d squabble unnecessarily. But the Koyasan side quest definitely stressed out the navigator.
Was it worth it? Well, Koyasan is a stunning, off the beaten track kind of location and getting there was half the adventure. The last section of the train trip from Hashimoto Station to Gokurakubashi Station winds high up into the densely forested, misty mountains, past small villages and the final cable car and bus are an experience in themselves. Not your average commuter journey.
Koyasan is considered to be one of Japan’s most sacred sites. It’s a small secluded Buddhist monastic centre, the birthplace of Shingon Buddhism, founded by Kobo Daishi. The walkable town is home to over 2000 temples and the sacred Okuno-in Cemetery and mausoleum to Kobo Daishi.
While I wasn’t raised with any one particular religious belief, I’ve always had an appreciation for different religions and spiritual beliefs from a historical and cultural context. I’ve also been fascinated by and drawn to sacred sites from around world, having visited many places in Egypt, Cambodia, Peru and Mexico.
Koyasan is the ideal destination for anyone who appreciates religion and spirituality, particularly Buddhism, nature and photography. Many people who make the journey here stay in one of Koyasan’s Shukubo temple retreats - essentially a homestay experience in a Buddhist temple where you can attend meditations with the monks, stay in very traditional settings and eat delicious vegetarian meals prepared by the monks of the temples. This experience out of our price range and probably a little extreme for the rest of the family but we were able to stay in a small guesthouse in the centre of town that was totally fine for us.
We arrived in the afternoon, had an delicious curry in a lovely little restaurant and spent the last few hours of the day wandering around the town, visiting Kongobui-ji Temple ( the head temple ) and the Danjo Garan Sacred Temple Complex. It’s free to enter all the temple grounds but there are admission fees to go inside some sections of the temples. I think for us, with the kids, it felt like the most appropriate thing to do was just observe from the outside, considering how sacred these temples are and how there are some many rituals and customs that go into visiting a temple. The girls are happy enough to walk around and explore, especially if there is the prospect of getting an ice-cream at the end.
The next morning we woke to heavy rain. In fact the heavy rain had set in across to Osaka and Kyoto too. Luckily I had packed raincoats.
The rain let up enough around 9am for me to encourage everyone to join me for a walk to Okuno-in, the sacred cemetery at the far end of town. The 2km path lead through old and new monuments and tombstones, some covered in moss, with enormous ancient cedar trees towering overhead. This was the location that first captured my attentions, its otherworldliness was enhance by the atmospheric light rain. However it wasn’t long before the kids started to feel wet and cold and needed to go the toilet. So we made it to the halfway mark, where there were toilet facilities and a bus stop that headed back into town. Braino took the girls back to the accommodation while I continued on through the cemetery.
At the end of the path is Kobo Daishi’s Mausoleum, it is believed that he has sat in an eternal meditative state since 835AD. At 6am and 10:30am daily, you can witness three monks carrying an offering from one of the temple buildings across the Gobyabashi Bridge and up the path to the Toroda Hall ( Hall of Lanterns.) I joined the small group of tourist who followed the monks across the bridge into the Toroda Hall. It was a mesmerising experience. The Toroda Hall was dimly lit with thousand of red glowing lanterns hanging from the ceiling, everyone stood in silence as the chanting of the monks fill the air.
It is forbidden to take photos and video past the Gobyababshi bridge and in the Lantern Hall so I have no footage of the monks or the offering. And rightly so. It’s a such a sacred space, you really have to experience it in person, photos would not do it justice.
After about 20 minutes of deep contemplation and gratitude, I left the Toroda Hall and headed back through the cemetery but by this stage the rain started getting much heavier. I was much too busy taking photos to be distracted by the rain and even though I had a raincoat on my pants soon became drenched. It was probably best that the girls and Braino turned back when they did, they avoided the heavy downpour. I scampered back through the rain, down the main road back to our accommodation and changed into some dry clothes, very satisfied with my Koyasan experience.
We were planning to stay two nights in Koyasan but decided to forgo the second night. We took advantage of a late checkout and head back to Osaka late in the afternoon.
The following day we had planned to head to Takayama which is north beyond Kyoto and it would have been a huge day in transit to travel from Koyasan to Takayama in one journey. The bus alone from Kyoto to Takayama is 5hours. It was Braino who revised the itinerary and booked a night in Osaka, he found a cheap guesthouse that was surprising spacious and had a free laundry room, perfect for what we needed. It was still bucketing down in Osaka so we just did some washing and Braino did a quick location scout to see where the bus left from in the morning.
The following day we tackled the bus trip from Osaka to Takayama. We could have again used a Shinkansen ( bullet train ) for part of the trip but the long distance buses are really comfortable, cheap and efficient. They have wifi and ports to charge your devices so the girls were kept entertained with movies on the iPad.
The girls have been really good with all the travel. Hallie and Rooney can get a little rowdy and squirmy on the public transport at the end of the days which is understandable but they always stay close to us in the busy stations, there is never a fear of losing anyone.
If I was to rebook the itinerary or recommend the same locations to a friend; I would suggest Tokyo > Lake Kawaguchiko > Osaka > Koyasan > Kyoto > Takayama. Rather than Kyoto > Koyasan > Takayama.
Overall, it was a very special way to spend my birthday. I’m truly blessed to be able to able to visit Japan with my family, let alone a place as sacred as Koyasan. And big shout out to Braino for entertaining some of my more ambitious ideas.