Koyasan day 1 - the temples

Last week Yukiko & I headed off to Koyasan, a picturesque mountain-top plateau filled with big, ancient trees, hundreds of temples and a sprawling graveyard with intricately carved tombs. Koyasan features the headquarters of the Shingon school of Esoteric Buddhism but the main reason to go there in the summer is to escape the heat & humidity.

大門　Daimon - the big gate.

Gate Guardian 'N' - the silent one.

Gate Guardian 'A' - the one that never shuts up.

金堂　Kondou (Main Hall) and 大塔　Daitou (Great Pagoda)

The Great Pagoda

Just ring for service.

Yukiko really liked this old-fashioned police building.

The best thing about Koyasan, aside from escaping the heat of the cities, is that you can experience shukubou, staying at a temple, eating the monk's vegetarian food and taking part in morning prayers. We stayed at a great place called the 巴陵院　Haryoin　temple.

精進料理 Shoujin ryouri, the vegetarian temple food. It was delicious.

Today's tongue-twister: Yukiko's yukata.

Even the monks were impressed with this studly pose.

1 of the many temples you can stay in.

Ultra modern temple