Koyasan by rail

Kôyasan is home to an active monastic centre founded twelve centuries ago by the priest Kûkai (posthumously known as Kôbô Daishi) for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism. It is the headquarters of the Kôyasan sect of Shingon Buddhism, a faith with a wide following throughout Japan. Situated on a small plain at the top of Mount Kôya is the sacred area known as the Danjô Garan, a complex of temples, halls, pagodas and Buddhist statuary that welcome visitors to this serene and hallowed place.

On July 7, 2004, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) named Kôyasan as part of the “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range” to its World Heritage List.

Probably the most interesting time we have had on this trip has been spent in the Ekoin Temple at Mount Koyasan.

The journey by rail from Osaka Namba station must be one of the most scenic as the little train winds its way up from Hashimoto as far as it can go and the journey is completed by cable car.

.

The view from the top is one of many buses operating two routes, one from the station to the town and the other from the town to the station. Now which bus shall I choose next?

Contrast this to the pilgrims who travel by foot for 8 hours up the mountain from the Jison-in temple and the view which greets them as they enter the final stage of their pilgrimage and the great gate at the entrance to the valley.