We left our bags in the Sakara common room early and took the metro to the JR Kyoto Station. We packed warm clothes including all our scarves, gloves and hats because it was FREEZING COLD today. We needed to get to Shin-Imamiya station in suburban Osaka to buy our tickets to Mt. Koya (Koyasan). We got to Shin-Imamiya easily using our JR pass and then purchased our tickets. This ticket combination allowed us to to from Shin-Imamiya to Gokurakubashi from where we would take the cable car to Koyasan and ride the bus around Mt. Koya. The ticket combo also included the return trip.

We had some time to kill at Shin-Imamiya, and unfortunately found it to be the most unappealing station in all of Japan. Nothing to do except buy some pastries at the self-service bakery and load up on hot coffee beverages from the vending machines! Did I mention that most vending machines have a "hot" side and a "cold" side? If you order a cold drink, it comes out on the left side -- and a hot drink comes out on the right side. Very innovative.

The train ride to Gokurakubashi was unremarkable and the limited express train we were on took about 90 minutes, but we definitely started to climb towards the end of the journey. The final cable car from Gokurakubashi was a scary proposition as we seemed to ascend vertically at more than a 45 degree angle! The trees up at this elevation (about 3,000 feet) were primarily cedars so the changing colors weren't a big draw. At the top of the mountain buses were waiting for us to take us the short distance down the incredibly windy road to "Mt. Koya town."

We really reached out of our comfort zone in staying here for the night. There are no hotels or ryokans -- just traditional temples that offer accommodations. Mount Koya (Koyasan) is the center of Shingon Buddhism an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi (also known as Kukai), one of Japan's most significant religious figures. We were looking forward to the experience of staying in a traditional Buddhist temple!

This small, secluded town has developed around the sect's headquarters that Kobo Daishi built on Koyasan's wooded mountaintop. It is also the site of Kobo Daishi's mausoleum. Kobo Daishi began construction on the original temple complex in 826 after wandering the country for years in search of a suitable place to center his religion. Since then over one hundred temples have sprung up along the streets of Koyasan including Okunion, the site of Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.

Upon arrival at the Ekoin Temple we left our luggage and needed to return later in the day to check in. We hopped back on the bus and took it to the western end of town to visit Okunion. Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi. Instead of having died, Kobo Daishi is believed to rest in eternal meditation as he awaits Miroku Nyorai (Maihreya), the Buddha of the Future, and provides relief to those who ask for salvation in the meantime. Okunoin is one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot.

The Ichinohashi Bridge (first bridge) marks the traditional entrance to Okunoin, and visitors bow to pay respect to Kobo Daishi before crossing it. Across the bridge starts Okunoin's cemetery, the largest in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones lining the almost two kilometer long approach to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum. Wishing to be close to Kobo Daishi in death to receive salvation, many people have had their tombstones erected here over the centuries.

We opted for the second, shorter approach to Okunoin, which cuts the walk to the mausoleum in half (to slightly under a kilometer). This alternative route leads through a more recent addition to the cemetery with modern tombstones by individuals, associations and companies. We saw the tombs of several executives from companies like Nissan and Mitsubishi here, as well as a tomb in the shape of a rocket ship for a famous astronaut.

Both paths meet up at the Gokusho Offering Hall which lies near a row of statues depicting Jizo, a popular Bodhisattva that looks after children, travelers, and the souls of the deceased. Visitors make offerings and throw water at the statues to pray for departed family members.

The holy Gobyonohashi Bridge then crosses a stream that separates the innermost grounds of the temple from the rest of Okunoin. Visitors bow to Kobo Daishi before crossing, and photography, food and drink are forbidden beyond this point. To the left of the bridge are a group of wooden markers placed in the stream as a memorial to unborn children.

Just a few meters off the path lies the Miroku Stone, housed in a small cage. Visitors are challenged to lift the stone from the cage's lower platform to an upper platform with only one hand. It is believed that the stone feels lighter to good people and heavier to bad people. Efren has able to lift the stone with ease. Craig didn't even try.

Torodo Hall (Hall of Lamps) is Okunoin's main hall for worship, built in front of Kobo Daishi's mausoleum. Inside the hall are more than 10,000 lanterns, which were donated by worshipers and are kept eternally lit. These lanterns made for a truly beautiful site. We walked back to the bus stop and took a bus to the other side of the town to visit the Daimon Gate. This massive gate was the original entrance to Koyasan, and we enjoyed walking around and seeing the expansive views from the gate area.

By now we were chilled to the bone and hungry, so we walked the few minutes walk to the "center" of town and looked for a restaurant. We found one of a handful of places open and took in hot soup and tea. Be prepared during your visit to Koyasan for there NOT to be a lot of places open or a lot of eating options. Probably more is open during the summer months when a lot of visitors come up to Koyasan to take advantage of the cooler weather.

During the afternoon we visited the Garan Temple complex. Like most temples, there was a very interesting story behind this one. Legend has it that Kobo Daishi threw his sankosho (a double ended, three pronged ceremonial tool) from China, where he had been studying, toward Japan. Back in Japan, while in search of a place to headquarter his new religion, he came across his sankosho stuck in the branches of a pine tree on Koyasan and started construction of the Garan, Koyasan's central temple complex, there. The two most prominent buildings of the Garan are the Kondo Hall and the huge Konpon Daito Pagoda. The Kondo Hall is a large wooden temple hall where major ceremonies are held. The building has burned down multiple times over the centuries, and the current hall dates back to 1932. Next to the Kondo Hall stands the towering vermilion pagoda at over 45m tall.

After the visit to Garan we took the bus back to station 9 (the location of the Ekoin Temple) and officially checked in. The very friendly monk showed us to our room. Wow. The room was basically ryokan style with tatami mats and a table in the center. Did I mention there was no heat? Ouch! The rooms, however, are equipped with supercharged kerosene heaters, and as soon as that baby was cranked up, it got warm in a hurry. We reviewed the information in the room on the meal plan we had chosen, the activities we were going to participate in with the monks, and the proper way to take a Japanese bath and to wear the yukata. We had a lot to learn! We also strolled around the beautiful grounds of the temple and enjoyed the serene atmosphere.

The first activity was a mediation session at 4:30pm. We went to the meditation hall and were soon introduced to the theories of Ajikan Mediation. Ajikan is the first letter in the Sanskirt alphabet. We were told the proper way to sit -- however recognizing this would be painful for most -- were encouraged to sit in a way that kept us comfortable. We were joined by about a dozen other "pilgrims" partaking in this mediation exercise. The folks were generally younger (we were the oldest in the room) and hailed from all over the world. The keys to mediation are controlling breathing, keeping eyes neither open nor shut, and channeling thoughts appropriately when something pops into your mind that you want to not focus on. Some interesting techniques that I am sure we will try and perform again once we get back to the stresses of home! Shortly after arriving back at our room, one of the monks delivered dinner. The dinner was a fairly substantial platter of multiple different varieties of tofu. Not something we'd want to eat every day, but kinda tasty. After dinner we were planning to go on a nighttime walk of the Okunion cemetery, but out of nowhere a major rainstorm blew in so the walk was cancelled.

Instead, we decided to try out the traditional Japanese bath at the temple. We donned our yukatas (robes) as instructed as walked down to the bath area. Luckily no one was around. The way to take the bath is to first wash yourself down using the shower. You then soak in the hot water (and it was HOT) to relax away your worries. Craig typically wasn't a big fan of soaking in hot water, but found this to be very relaxing. After the soak, you go back to the showers and clean up using soap before taking another soak and calling it a day. There are a few very important rules and, as is the case with almost everything in Japan, lots of etiquette around the process. It is very important, for example, not to get any soap into the bath. Makes sense :)

While we were in the bath, the Ekoin elves entered our room and laid out our beds for the night. After the bath we did some reading and stuff on the internet (yes, they don't have heat or private bathrooms here, but they do have internet) before going to bed. We were headed back to Kyoto tomorrow, but planned to make a stop at Nara on the way back. Also, early in the morning are scheduled a few more activities including a morning prayer service and a fire lighting ritual (sounds fantastic)!