Japan 5: Mount Koya

Here's the thing. The one thing to take away from this entire experience. The one thing to see in Japan, if nothing else. Mount Koya.

Okonoin Cemetery

Sunday, April 6

Now that I've talked it up, let me explain. I've been to Japan three times. I've seen Hokkaido, Kyushu,  Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, Nara, and now also the Hida region. And then there's Koyasan, a tranquil, historic, embodiment of Buddhist Japanese culture. It is best to stay overnight to visit Koyasan, mainly because it takes over 2 hours to get there, but also because sleeping in a monastery is a worthwhile experience, and we got the best views of Okonoin cemetery during an evening walk.

We packed an overnight bag and left most of our belongings in Kyoto for the night. We left Kyoto early, travelling to Koyasan via Osaka. We got held up in Osaka by an hour due to a train fire - we were in disbelief to experience a train delay in Japan, and it's a bit stressful when we couldn't understand the announcements. We took a local train from Osaka station to Shinimamiya station, which is another main station within Osaka. It's important not to confuse Shin-Imamiya station with Imamiya station (or Shin-Osaka with Osaka etc). The "Shin" prefix means "New". It's like going to New York instead of York.

From Shinimamiya station, we purchased the Koyasan World Heritage Ticket, which was about $28 per person. It included our return train tickets to Koyasan (cable car included), and bus travel while in town. The cable-car takes you up the majority of the altitude change in the last 5 minutes of the journey.

At the exit to the cable car, I peered down the steep mountain edge at the cedar trees lightly drizzled with fresh snow. The bus ride to our accommodations from the cable car station was nothing short of breathtaking. The recent snow added to the magnificence of the scenery on the mountain.

Accommodations: Shojoshin-in monastery. This was a pricey choice at just over $100 per person, but the place had great reviews for the accommodation and food. It's a monastery, and while the monks greeted us and showed us our room, they otherwise kept to themselves. The rooms were comfortable, but overall the building was cold, especially so at night. There was a kerosene heater in the room that needed to be on most of the night, and everything smelled a bit toxic because of it.

On the way to dinner at Shojoshin-in

The food at Shojoshin-in was amazing. The meals - dinner and breakfast - were entirely vegetarian, beautifully presented and creatively flavourful. I'm usually a meat-and-potatoes type, and I never thought that simple dishes made from rice, beans and miso could be so delicious.

Monday, April 7

This morning was spent exploring the Okunoin Cemetery. This cemetery is the main reason to visit Koyasan. At over 1000 years old, the dappled sunlight beams through the tall branches to light the trail through hundreds of monuments. The entrance to the cemetery is right next to the Shojoshin-in guesthouse, and the trail leads to a mausoleum.

Snow was melting from the tree branches, creating a gentle rain along the trail. The guesthouse provided umbrellas for us to use while moving about town. We visited a few temples in town and had lunch at the only place we stumbled upon that served food - a canteen-style restaurant above a souvenir shop.

After wondering around town, we returned to the station to visit Nara on the way back to Kyoto.

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Japan 4: Kyoto

Friday, April 4

We left Takayama at 8am on the train to Kyoto. We got to the station about 15 minutes before the train was scheduled, and we were so lucky. When booking our seats, the man at the counter asked if we would like to sit at the front for the 'scenic view'. What he gave us was the very front row of seats, on the wide view Hida train, where we could see the conductor and out the windows at the front of the train. The train follows a beautiful route through the mountains, along the turquoise river. These were definitely the best seats in the house.

Kiyomizu-dera Temple

Arriving in Kyoto, we had a noodle lunch at the train station. There is so much good and cheap food at this station. My favourite, which I had difficulty finding, was the sushi train. You can find it by exiting the JR tracks, and follow signs to ASTY square. You should see a Bearded Papas (i.e. your dessert) and Godiva chocolateria along the way (I suggest stopping for a hot chocolate there, yum). Go down the stairs at the south exit to the station, this will lead you outside, where there is a taxi rink. At the bottom of the stairs you can enter the lower level of the station, keep walking east along the mall and you will probably see a line of people outside the sushi train.

Discounts are provided by local establishments for wearing a kimono,
so you will see lots of people wearing this traditional garment in the streets of Kyoto.

I'm writing in detail about how to find this place because, it is difficult to find when you can't remember where it is, and it's my favourite sushi that I've eaten in Japan on my three visits there. When we decided to travel to Japan, one of the first things I said to Mike is "I can't wait to take you to Kyoto station's sushi train". Plates are about 130Y each, I had about 7 plates, Mike had about 13. Even after I had talked it up, everyone seemed pretty impressed. And the queue for this establishment speaks for itself.

I'm getting carried away over sushi.

We spent the afternoon with Amber's aunt, who showed us the Kiyomizu-dera temple and surrounding neighbourhood. Cherry blossoms where in full bloom, and merchants were selling sakura-flavoured ice-cream and mochi treats (soft rice cakes with a sweet filling). This neighbourhood certainly feels like the 'old town' of Kyoto, with traditional style architecture, narrow laneways, temples and monuments.

From here, we wondered around the nearby shopping district, and had an izakaya dinner on Kiya-machi Dori. This street is beautiful during cherry blossom season, with sakura trees overhanging the stream running beside the road. The restaurants aren't obvious, displaying a subdued sign at the entrance, so you wouldn't notice them if you weren't looking to find them.

Accommodation: K's House Kyoto. This is the older hostel of the franchise, and much more of a hostel than a guesthouse compared to their other locations. There is a large lounge and common area, and rooftop patio. The beds and rooms are comfortable as expected, Mike and I got private room because it was all that was available. For the price, you could stay in hotel elsewhere, but it's peak season in Kyoto and there was limited availability of anything at the time we visited.

The view from the top of Kiyomizu-dera temple

Saturday, April 5

We borrowed bikes from Amber's aunt, and rode to the Golden Pavilion. Note to self: bring a map. We had arranged for some mobile internet at this time, but hadn't received the device yet. It looked like an obvious route, except in the region nearby the temple, many of the roads have 5-way intersections and we were going by memory and couldn't even tell where north was.

The bike ride itself was at first very pleasant, we road along the park that travels north and underpasses the east-west roads. It was all uphill, and the weather was perfect and warm. Then we had to cross to the west side of the city using the road system. Most cyclists use the pedestrian pathways in Kyoto, and we followed suit, and had a stressful time weaving our way through pedestrians.

When you enter the Golden Pavilion, staff usher you to a yard on the left side for photo opportunities. There is a long one-way walk around the pavilion, but be sure to take the photo of yourself with the temple in the background in this area, as it's the only view you will have of the front of the temple. Watch the pond as you make your way around the temple, there are lots of fish that come to the shallows. As expected, you will pass many vending machines and tourist shops before you complete your walk of the grounds.

This is the only pavilion we visited this tour, but I've visited the other pavilions during an earlier trip and I find they are mostly the same experience with a different coloured temple, and the Golden Pavilion is the most impressive one to me. I don't really have the attention span to visit a hundred temples, museums or galleries in a city, but I'm sure there's plenty of people that would enjoy whatever differences there are between the many temples in Kyoto. You definitely have to visit a temple while in Kyoto.

We rode through the Imperial Palace grounds on the way back. The distances are quite large, so by foot it would probably take an hour or two to wonder the palace grounds. By bike, we had a bumpy ride on the gravel paths through the gardens.

Imperial Palace Grounds

We had a lazy afternoon to rest a bit. For dinner, Mike and I went to まんざら亭NISHIKI which is a difficult to find Izakaya place on Nishikikoji Dori. The sign to this restaurant is subtle, so you really have to look for it, but most of the restaurants in this area looked nice. The food was really delicious, but a bit expensive.

We stopped at stand-up whisky bar on the way home, where Mike tried a sampler of a few whiskeys.

We left the majority of our belongings in Kyoto and took an overnight bag to our next destination, Mount Koya. After this we returned to Kyoto and used it as a base for day trips to Nara and Kobe.

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