Koyasan 高野山 - Okunoin

Sound of his getas rhythmically hitting the stone path in the crisp morning.

How To Get There

Personally, we took a train there in the early morning to avoid the morning crowds, departing from Nankai Namba station in Osaka and arriving at Koyasan. Some very helpful sources of how to take the train include HyperDia (the minimum one app you need to use for travelling all over Japan) and obviously Google Maps. The only thing about Google Maps is that it will give you the best route but it might not be the best route for YOU (if that even makes sense lol). So, it is up to you to compare prices, check different train schedules with Hyperdia etc, to see which combination of trains appeal to you best. You will get the hang of it after a while so don't worry.

For someone who has never been to Japan before, you might want to learn how to take a train. If not, i swear you will definitely be confused with all the different trains departing on time from each station. But then again, if you miss a train, the next one usually doesn't take too long to arrive, so again, don't worry.

I highly recommend the Koyasan World Heritage Ticket (2860 yen for the regular pass, this is okay, just go for the unreserved cabins of the express trains, there probably won't be a whole lot of people in the early morning), this 2 days pass is also especially useful if you are planning to stay on the mountain for an overnight temple stay.

The few stations to take note of are:

1) Nankai Namba (Departure) - Take the Nankai-Koya Line
2) Hashimoto Station (Transfer to another train here if your train is not direct to Gokurakubashi, it is usually a shorter train so that it goes easier up the mountain path i think? When in doubt, always ask the train driver or someone who looks like they know what they are doing ;) And anyway, there's no real reason a foreigner ends up at Hashimoto without wanting to go to Koyasan, so just look for a person in uniform and gesture wildly while asking KOYASAN? and you will get be able to get some help)
3) Arrive at Gokurakubashi - This is where you take the cable car up
4) Koyasan Station - This is where the cable car trip ends and where you can take a bus to the town itself.

Helpful Links:
https://www.osakastation.com/the-nankai-koya-line-for-koyasan-mount-koya/
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4901.html

Okunoin 奥の院

Because the aim of our day trip was to visit the Okunoin, this is where we aim to go after getting on board the bus, one word of advice aka Protip #1, IMPORTANT, if you want to see the best of Okunoin, you should aim to get off at the bus stop labelled 10 (Ichinohashi), on this map.

Cropped map

Alternatively, the bus (and also tour groups) will drive directly to Okunoin-mae whereby the walk into Okunoin to see Kobodashi Gbobyo will be cut short by a lot(?) and you pretty much miss all of the forested beauty. 

However, if you alight earlier at Ichinohashi, you will be rewarded with a most beautiful and zen walk through the forested cemetery.

Really.

No, really.

Kobodashi statue

Beautiful and elaborate tombs with moss growing on them.

Look at the beautiful aged stone torii.

Kobodashi apparently sat on this stone to rest, i'm not sure why people leave coins here though.

I read somewhere that they wear bibs to protect the children. It is a pretty sight nevertheless, a sharp contrast to the forest and stone.

A wishing well? Legend has it that if you look down the well and don't see your reflection, that means you won't live past 3 years, obviously i didn't dare to look.

More bibs.

This is especially interesting because this is a line of Mizumuke Jizo (Water Covered Jizo). Worshippers splash water on the statues to pray for the souls of their departed relatives. P.S. i only realised a no-pictures sign was there after snapping this photo. What irony. :s

Yakult statue!!

I suppose this is built by a company that makes rockets?

Closing thoughts

As someone who lives and work in a city-state, which is you name it - fast-paced, busy, rat-racetracks, i crave quiet (and open) spaces and Okunoin is really a good place to have a most relaxing walk, a place that i dare say, defines the sacred Koyasan experience. I had really looked forward to visiting and i am happy to say it didn't disappoint at all.

Being the place where waiting spirits of the departed are supposedly waiting, coupled with the tall cedar trees that line the stone path, there is a sense of overwhelming peace and a creeping sense of understanding that when we ourselves depart, what is left will not be the nice things we can buy in life, but rather, just a lingering nothingness(?) After all, our existence is only ephemeral, and a walk through the forested Okunoin only seeks to strengthen this particular feeling in myself.

Reader, i hope you enjoy your experience to Okunoin as well! And if you didn't plan on visiting Koyasan before this, hopefully this has changed your mind. :)


Other references:
https://www.japan-experience.com/city-koyasan/okunoin
http://eng.shukubo.net/about.html
http://eng.shukubo.net/upfile/map.pdf