A MONTH IN JAPAN – NARA TO KOYASAN TO OSAKA, NOVEMBER 21 - 22, 2025

November 21, 2025 - Nara to Koyasan

Today would be an exciting day.  We had booked one night with vegetarian dinner and breakfast at Koyasan Shukubo Saizenin, a Shingon Buddhist monastery that hosts pilgrims and tourists who visit the remote mountain town.  Koyasan is only 72 km (45 miles) south of Nara; you could drive there in about an hour.  Getting there by train, though, was another matter.   

Strangely, the fastest way to get from Nara to Koyasan by train is via Osaka.  If you look at a map, this seems crazy.  But because there is no direct train route between Nara and Koyasan, you have to go northwest through Osaka and then due south, which takes about four hours, two trains, a cable car, and a bus. 

We decamped from Nara Top Sights 5 to 20 min Walk and caught the 10:02 a.m. train from Kintetsu Station to Namba Station in Osaka.  Our fellow passenger on the way to Osaka (below) was decked out in fake Chanel from head to toe.

At Namba, a huge mall masquerading as a transit hub, we bought bento boxes and transferred to the Nankai Koya Line, where we boarded the Gran Tenku sightseeing train for Gokurakubashi Station in Koyasan.   Loved those swivel seats!

At Gokurakubashi Station, we transferred to the cable car, which travels straight up 800-meter-high Mount Koya. The dizzying ride takes about five minutes and seems almost vertical.

From the cable car, there are buses waiting to take you into town to your Koya destination.  We got the bus recommended by our temple lodging, which took us on a 20-minute journey on a very steep, narrow road which winds through the mountains.  We got off at Atago-mae, the bus stop closest to Koyasan Shukubo Saizenin.  From there, it was a short walk to the gate.

• Koyasan Shukubo Saizenin

 As Lonely Planet explains:

As more and more pilgrims journeyed to Koya-san, temples started offering accommodation and food, a practice which evolved into shukubo (temple lodging).  Today, staying in a shukubo lets you soak up the rarified atmosphere of an active temple, take part in religious rituals and dine on beautifully presented shojin-ryori (the vegetarian cuisine of Buddhist monks).  Shojin means devotion or diligence, emphasizing a disciplined and mindful approach to eating, rooted in Buddhist principles of nonviolence. 

Our shukubo looked more lodge than temple, but we learned later that it is actually a compound of several buildings, including separate monks’ quarters and the temple itself, where it was possible to join the 6 am prayer service.  The entire compound is set in a velvety moss garden with mature trees. 

 

We were shown to our room, a spartan affair with tatami mats, where we were told our private vegetarian kaiseki dinner would be served promptly at 6 pm.   

A pot of tea and some sweets had been set out for us.  After stowing our suitcases, we went out to explore the part of Koyasan known as Danjo Garan, the temple buildings across from our lodging, past which we had walked from the bus stop.

• Koyasan

Lonely Planet Guide Japan set the foundation for our visit to the sacred site:

The monastery town of Koya-san is a living, breathing centre of Buddhist faith and one of contemporary Japan’s most spiritual destinations.  The town still worships its 9^th-century founder, the monk Kukai (posthumously known as Kobo Daishi), believed to be in a state of perpetual meditation in his forest tomb.  Of Koya-san’s 3000 residents, 800 are monks or novices of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism, on top of an estimated 10 million followers in Japan. 

• Danjo Garan

Koyasan, first settled in 819 by Kukai, is located on an 800-meter-high plain surrounded by eight mountain peaks, resembling the petals of a lotus flower.  At the center of the “lotus” sits Danjo Garan, the spiritual heart of the Koyasan temple complex.  (The administrative heart of the Koyasan temple complex is Kongobu-ji, which we would visit the following day.)  From Lonely Planet:

The story of Koya-san begins with Kukai, a devout young Buddhist who sets out on an imperial mission to China where he is initiated into Esoteric Buddhism.  Before his passage back to Japan, as the legend goes, he tosses his sankosho (a three-pronged ritual object) into the heavens and vows to search for it upon his return.  Wandering the forests of the Kii Peninsula, he meets a hunter (actually a mountain god), whose dogs lead him to the sankosho, landed [in the branches of a pine tree] at the spot where Danjo Garan (the sacred precinct) now stands.

We walked around the grounds of Danjo Garan and saw a number of sacred structures, including the legendary pine tree, which still stands in front of the Miedo.

• Miedo

The Miedo (below) holds an image of Kukai (Kobo Daishi) which is displayed only once a year on March 21, the day he supposedly went into perpetual meditation.  

It’s considered good luck to pick up a three-pronged pine needle from the ground, so we searched around for some, and Voila!

• Koyashiro Daito Bell Tower

Koyashiro Daito houses the sacred bell which is traditionally rung five times per day with a total of 108 rings to represent the 108 worldly desires in Shingon Buddhism.   

• Saitō, West Pagoda 

• Tōtō, East Pagoda

• Fudō-do

Dedicated to Fudō Myōō, a fire deity and one of the five kings of wisdom in Shingon Buddhism, this is the oldest building in Danjo Garan, dating from the early 14^th c.  It is listed as a National Treasure.

• Daimon Gate

The monumental gate takes you into Danjo Garan from the street leading into town and has two pairs of guardians on each side.  This side of the gate faces away from the temple complex grounds.  The guardian on the right holds a model of the Konpon Daito pagoda described below. 

This side of the gate faces away from the street and has its own pair of guardians. 

• Kon-do Hall

Kon-do Hall dates to 819 and was one of the first structures built on the grounds of Danjo Garan. Here Kobo Daishi gave religious talks at the center of religious activity for the Shingon religion.

I got a goshuin for my collection. 

• Konpon Daito Pagoda

From Lonely Planet:

The bright-red Konpon Daito (Great Pagoda), at 50m tall, is considered the central point of the lotus-flower mandala formed by Koya-san’s eight mountains.  The original was said to have pillars painted by Kobo Daishi (Kukai) himself, although the current building dates to 1937. 

We each took forbidden photos, but my husband did take off a hat.  Does that mean we're allowed into Shingon purgatory?

Another temple, another goshuin.

After strolling around the complex, we noticed that it was almost 5:00 pm, so we walked over to the Koyashiro Daito bell tower for the dusk bell-ringing ceremony.

 

Then it was time to go back to our room for dinner.  I wish I could say the food was really grand, but it was rather bland.  The silken tofu made from sesame seeds and topped with a dollop of wasabi was, however, appropriately divine.

 

As a saving grace, there was, of course, sake!  Dinner was followed by a deeply relaxing bath in the onsen.  (Sorry,  No photos allowed.)

November 22, 2025 - Koyasan to Osaka

• Morning Prayers

I had signed up for the 6 am prayer service and quietly left my husband soundly sleeping to slip downstairs and find my way to the temple.  Side note:  On arrival at a shukubo, one is required to remove and store one’s shoes in a cupboard by the entrance and to put on a kind of mule-like slipper provided by the temple.  I could never find the right fit and mine were always slipping off, which was a bit treacherous on the highly polished wooden floors.  My work-around was to not wear socks so I could get a better grip on the slippers. This proved to be a source of embarrassment later.

Once downstairs, I followed a novice monk to the prayer room, where about 25 other guests were already seated, having removed their slippers before entering, as required out of respect.  I followed suit. All the other guests were wearing socks.  My feet were bare.  At a certain point in the monks’ gong ringing, bell tinkling, and sutra chanting, guests were invited to get up from their seats, approach the altar individually, bow, say a silent prayer, and return to their seats.  I spent the entirety of the service dreading having to expose my bare feet, worrying that they were a sign of disrespect or perhaps stupidity, as the room was unheated, thereby missing out on an opportunity for quiet meditation, obsessing over my soles rather than my soul.   

After the service I found my slippers and went off in search of breakfast and my husband. 

He was sitting on a cushion on the floor, his back in obvious discomfort, and snickering over the breakfast.  It was even more bland than the kaiseki dinner the night before, but as the saying goes, when in Koyasan….

We checked out of the shukubo, left our bags at the desk, and found our shoes.  Then it was off to forested Oku-no-in Cemetery, with a stop at Shojoshin-in Temple at the entrance to the wood.

• Shojoshin-in Temple

Fire rituals said to have been introduced by Kukai (Kobo Daishi) are performed daily by resident monks in most Koyasan temples.  They take about an hour and a half and involve the building and lighting of a fire, accompanied by sutra chanting and drumming.  Lonely Planet says you can participate by writing a prayer on a goma stick and tossing it into the flames.  The fire ritual takes place at 1:30 pm at Shojoshin-in, but we were there bright and early and had to settle for a goshuin.

• Oku-no-in Cemetery

From Lonely Planet:

In the year 835, Kobo Daishi entered what is now Gobyo gate and began a week-long meditation, after which, he told his followers, he would pass away and the crypt should be sealed.  Today, his final resting place, in the furthest reaches of Oku-no-in (meaning inner sanctuary), is perhaps the most intensely spiritual place in Japan.

Oku-no-in is at the eastern end of Koyasan,…Starting at…a bridge that marks the entrance, it’s a further 2km to the Gobyo (crypt).  The path climbs upwards through dense forest, shafts of ethereal light revealing a stone sea of stupas, statues, tombstones and torii, many shrouded in moss.  Some of the estimated 200,000 graves and tombs are inscribed with the names of feudal lords, others with the likes of Panasonic.   

The statues with red bibs below are jizu and are said to protect children. 

My favorite jizu was this little lady with a purple complexion, surrounded by cosmetics and over-the-counter analgesics.

Oku-no-in was a dreamily atmospheric place, otherworldly, really.  At the Kobo Daishi crypt, I bought sticks of incense for a friend who had been here 25+ years ago and never forgot its magic. It was obvious why. 

And, of course, I got another goshuin before we walked back the way we had come. 

Next and final stop in Koyasan would be Kongobu-ji Temple, built in 1593 by a Japanese samurai to commemorate the death of his mother.

• Kongobu-ji Temple

From Lonely Planet:

Whereas the Garan temples are largely ceremonial, Kongobu-ji is the nerve center of the Shingon school of Buddhism, serving as head temple, administrative centre and residence for Koya-san’s abbot. 

 

Padding through its hushed, tatami-lined halls [in those goddam slippers that fall off your feet], the real treat here is admiring sumptuous painted fusuma (sliding panels) that depict Buddhist deities, sacred landscapes, animals and narrative scenes. 

 

If the interiors of the buildings at Kongobu-ji were a little underwhelming and even sterile, the grounds have a very different vibe and aesthetic:  Kongobu-ji features Japan’s largest rock garden, known as the Banryutei.

 

But before leaving Kongobu-ji, you guessed it--another goshuin!

By then it was time for lunch.  I’d read about a restaurant in Koya that serves sesame tofu, which had become my latest holy food grail.  I guess other people were on a similar sesame quest, because there was an hour+ wait at the restaurant.  Disappointed, we bailed for something less interesting but faster, as we had to pick up our bags, catch a bus, hop on the cable car, and then board the train (without swivel chairs this time--boo!) to Namba Station in Osaka, our next destination.

Here is the view from our train through the Wayakama Mountains.

• Osaka

At Namba Station, we picked up the Sennichimae Metro Line, rode one stop to Tanimachi 9-Chome Station, transferred to the Tanimachi Line and rode it for two stops to Tanimachi 6-Chome, got off and then walked a short block to our modern apartment hotel, Central Mansions.  Easy Peasy.

• Central Mansions

Skinny, tall, centrally located, and sporting a hyped-up name, Central Mansions was an über-urban change from our shukubo.  With a washing machine out on the balcony and a galley kitchen, it was perfect for three nights in Japan's second largest city.  It was also within walking distance of a terrific French bakery called Boulangerie goût, which made the best croissants we'd eaten since Paris.

The nighttime view from our balcony. 

We had dinner at an izakaya in our new neighborhood--- sashimi, tempura, and ice cold sake. Nighty-night!  Tomorrow would be another full and fulfilling day.

 

Keep it real!

Marilyn