Koyasan

Today we moved on from Nara to Koyasan for an overnight stay in a temple. Koyasan is at the top of the sacred Mt Koya and the journey involved a few changes of train, culminating in a slow but spectacular ride up the mountainside to catch the cable car, which is what we would call a funicular railway, to the top.

A bus then dropped us off at our temple where we were greeted by a young monk who showed us to our traditional room. As you can see in extras, it was simple but beautifully comfortable.

We had time for a walk through the atmospheric Okunoin cemetery, where there are thousands of tombstones dating back centuries with numerous stone shrines.

Many of the sculptures are for some reason adorned with woolly hats like the one in the main blip. As you can tell from the vestiges of snow, the climate is pretty chilly.

Back at the temple we were summoned to a beautifully presented and tasty meal (in extras) although we weren’t sure what some of it was.

The beds laid out on the tatami mats were surprisingly comfortable and cosy though.

The other extras are of our simple temple and the more ornate one next door.

Still way behind with posting!