Going up

Today we went to the place that proved to be the highlight of our trip - the town of Koya San. It's the home of the Shingon sect, an esoteric school of Buddhism. There are 120 temples and 4000 people living there, and there is even a Buddhist university too.

It's high on a mountain and the journey there was brilliant, taking a narrow gauge railway and then this funicular to get to the top. Many of the temples now offer lodgings to raise money and give people an experience of the buddhist way of life. I was expecting it to be basic but it was a really beautiful traditionally furnished room in a modern extension to a very old temple. The monks were really sweet, cooked us a vegetarian feast and even allowed us to have beer with our meal!