Koyasan Shukubo

Tonight, we stayed at a Buddhist temple in Koyasan, Shojoshin-in. Upon arrival, we were shown to our room, a standard Japanese style room, and took a tour of the temple. For dinner, we enjoyed shojin ryori, traditional vegetarian monk cuisine, before bundling up for our nighttime cemetery tour.

Okunoin is the site of the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan. 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's cemetery is the largest in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones lining the almost two kilometer long approach to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum.

In the morning, we attended morning prayers and breakfast before heading back out to explore Okunoin again in the daylight as well as some other sights in town. We then made our way back down the mountain.Read more