The O-Area, Sat morning, March 3

We've got a lot on our minds as far as places to see, and an extended weekend is pushing it. Still, if we were to forgo one of the destinations, we are told this morning's would be it. Today, we are visiting the world heritage site of the esoteric Shingon buddhism, a sect introduced to Japan in 805 by Kobo Daishi, one of the most significant personalities in Japan's religious history.



Seculded in greenery, about 80 km from Osaka, is Mt. Koya. We catch an 8:30 am train and at 10 am we find ourselves in a cable car climbing the steep mountain.

The mountain actually only stands 900 meters (2,800 feet) in height. It has been a training center for Buddhist monks ever since it's early A.D. founding, and a place where the zen feeling is seemingly floating in the air. Vistors can experience temple life together with the monks.

This includes early morning chanting, sermons and Buddhist training for stayover guests. The pricey 100 dollar per person temple sleep-over price, however, swayed us to experience all the greatness in a half a day.

After spending the night in a busy city, we thought it would be a nice change of pace to absorb the serenity of nature, and to be drizzled on by zen droplets. After disembarking from the cable car, we took the expensive 2 mile 4 dollar bus ride to Okunoin temple, one of the few free admissions.


The eye candy of this temple is that it is surrounded by Japan's largest graveyard. For an hour and a half we were lost in a labyrinth of old and recent tombs. People from all over Japan, who wished to be buried close to Kobo Daishi, lie there, including former feudal lords, politicians and other prominent personalities.

This was peculiar because we would see old-as-dirt moss encased tombs along with shining comical tombs, such as a coffee cup. So I guess we could deduce that the founder of a famous canned coffee wanted to be buried near the founder of Shingon Buddhism? Coming in all shapes and sizes, we lost track of time as we roamed about the stone structures.

Temples scattered about the grounds made for the reference points so we wouldn't lose our way. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. Miles of graves, from the past and present mixed, embedded among towering cedars, in the hills of a remote town. The greenery and the religion blended providing a breathtaking experience.

Let the words end and the pictures speak for themselves: