The birthplace of Japanese Buddhism

If you have any interest in Japanese history or religion, your trip won’t be complete without visiting Koyasan. Mt Koya is the center of Japanese Buddhism and dates all the way back to 826 CE by Kubo Daishi, one of Japan’s most significant religious figures. Here you can find some of the most picturesque and atmospheric cemeteries, temples and torii in all of Japan.

Starting at the senjuinbashi bus stop, walk along the traditional pilgrims path among the towering cedar trees and moss filled forests until you find yourself at Oku-no-in, a cemetery with some surprising headstones of some famous Japanese companies

I highly recommend taking a free guided tour and viewing the traditional fire ceremony starting at 7 am from Kongo-in Bishamonten. There are also audio guides available in multiple languages from the Koyasan Central Tourist Information center for ¥500.

STAYING OVERNIGHT Stay overnight in one of the monks' temple lodgings (shokubo) and get a taste of life as a Buddhist monk, eating their traditional vegan cuisine (shojin ryori) and joining in their morning prayers. People in Koyasan are used to welcoming foreign guests and are therefore very English-friendly. Lodgings cost from ¥9,000 to ¥15,000 per person, including dinner and breakfast.

Getting there Koyasan is easily accessible by public transport. Take either the Nankai Koya or Limited Express train to Gokurakubashi Station and change to the cablecar which will take you up to Koyasan’s area. From there catch one of the many buses (3-4 per hour) to Koyasan’s centre (Senjuinbashi bus stop).

The Koyasan area is flat and easy to explore on foot. If you don’t mind the walk, it’s 34 min (2.7 kms) from the tourist center to oku-no-in and back, otherwise there are buses that frequent the area.

While walking through Oku-no-in, see if you can spot some of these peculiar looking corporate graves. These spots are purchased by large companies to enshrine notable employees that worked for them... and for advertising, obviously. This grave stone memorialises the Japanese gut health yogurth drink, Yakult.