Finding a Winter Wonderland in Koyasan
From autumn to winter in Wakayama Prefecture
A view in Kongobu-ji.
Hailing from Michigan, I’m no stranger to snow. Bundled up like Randy in A Christmas Story, the whole Christmas break was spent sledding and making igloos out of the piles formed by the snow plow.
In Japan, however, none of the places I’ve called home see much snow. Going into mid-December, the fall colors are still alive and well around me in Nara. But just yesterday, we crossed the border into Wakayama Prefecture, where I stepped into a magical winter scene that made me feel like a kid again.
Even though I was expecting fall foliage and moss instead of evergreen trees lightly coated with snow, my day in Koyasan will likely stick with me for a long time.
The snowy ascent via cable car.
A long way from home
As always, our day began with the 7:56 train to catch the Wakayama Line, where it seems all our trips start. Two hours and three trains later, we arrived at Gokurakubashi Station, where a cable car and bus would take us up to the top of Koyasan.
Earlier this year, the idea of traveling over four hours round-trip would have been passed up immediately. Having been fortunate enough to travel the Kansai region quite extensively this year, though, I’ve learned that I greatly prefer day trips to staying overnight somewhere. Not having to worry about luggage or ruining my travel budget is worth the full-on travel days, in my opinion! My husband and I spend an average of about four hours in a single place anyway, and Koyasan was no different.
Going back to the beginning, we arrived at Gokurakubashi Station, where you can either take the cable car and bus or walk up via the pilgrimage route. Originally, we planned to take the Fudozaka pilgrimage route—one of many in Koyasan. Upon seeing the vast amount of snow, however, we opted for the cable car instead. Because the weather had called for snow, I wasn’t expecting to do much hiking, so my Docs and I stayed on the carefully salted sidewalks.
You ever have one of those moments where you feel like a kid again? I experienced a collective version of that in the cable car as we had a front-row seat to the snowy ascent. The cherry red cable car juxtaposed the icy branches stretching toward us beautifully. Everyone was in awe of the white landscape before them.
As the bus crept up the highway, too, the fellow day-trippers from Osaka were too immersed in the powder-white scenery to notice the bus driver joking about his poor driving skills and the lack of applause. After a few minutes of winding roads and cheerful commentary, we hopped off at Okunoin Cemetery.
Snow-capped headstones
As the largest cemetery in Japan, Okunoin is home to over 200,000 graves. Spanning 1.7 kilometers, the diversity of the people laid to rest here is even more compelling than its size. While the majority are monks of the Shingon sect of Buddhism, there are also memorial sites for the lives lost in World War II and other conflicts, including those of Korean, Australian, Chinese, Bornean, and Burmese descent.
In addition to monks and soldiers, everyday people call this place their eternal home, too. From the Tokugawa period up to the present, gravesites near the mausoleum of Kobo Daishi are in high demand. Known as Lord Kukai in life, the founder of Shingon Buddhism is believed to be in a state of eternal meditation rather than death, with monks providing food and grooming on a regular basis.
According to this sect, waiting spirits accompany their remains in the cemetery. As such, the monks, clad in black and orange, take great care in preserving the area. Although visitors typically come for the mossy version in the spring and fall, the snow shrouding the tombs only added to the atmosphere.
Taka and I had a rather spirited debate about photographing Okunoin. He thought taking photos was disrespectful to the people who rest there. I argued the opposite: capturing the undeniable beauty of the place—which Kobo Daishi himself adored so much—can also be a way of paying tribute. So long as one shares the context behind it and doesn’t approach the graves themselves, I don’t think there’s a moral conundrum there, but I invite others to weigh in on the subject.
Despite being a cemetery where the dead reside, Okunoin feels alive in every aspect. Within the walls of the mausoleum, strangers and monks alike were gathered in prayer, chanting in harmony just as they’ve done for centuries. History was all around us.
Feeling extremely moved, it was time to wander back down to Koya town for lunch.
A meal and a memory
To my utter joy, Koyasan being the origin of the vegetarian-leaning Shingon Buddhism means most restaurants are plant-based. On this particular occasion, I chose Tempu Terrace, just down the street from Okunoin.
Stepping in from the flurry of snow, the warm wood interiors and soft lighting provided the kind of ambiance that deserves a chorus. And then came the menu—not just a wide variety of options, but nothing that would require any modifications! It wasn’t just vegan or bust, either. The burger, for example, could be made with either a beef patty or a soybean patty. All items were labeled with symbols to show which animal products they contained.
As a pescatarian who is used to having to choose between a bland vegetable curry or claiming that I have an allergy so the chef will take the meat out, this was such a welcome reprieve. Although the Buddha bowl looked tempting, I opted for the masala vegetable curry and a Tempu Terrace original latte with black sesame and kinako (roasted soybean) powder.
Both lived up to the high ratings on Google Maps (to which I added my own well-deserved five-star review). The curry was well-spiced and warming, contrasting nicely with the pickled veggies and fluffy rice. The latte was nutty and rich—better than anything Starbucks has created, I dare say.
Downstairs, I started up a conversation with the woman working the cash register, who I suspect was the owner, but I cannot be sure. She shared that they’ve been open for a year and a half and that the snow had arrived just the day before. I praised the cozy atmosphere and food before she gave me a business card, to which I said I’d love to come again.
Striking up a conversation with local people—especially when I get a chance to show some love for small businesses—is always rewarding, because not only can I practice my Japanese, but I can also get a better sense of what the area and the people living in it are like. We only spoke for a few minutes, but the interaction lifted my spirits even further.
Tempu Terrace from the outside.
Even more temples
After lunch, we continued walking down the photogenic main street to visit the rest of the temples in the area. First was the miniature Fushimi Inari, Jochi-in Temple, with a slew of red torii gates leading to the small altar. Then, there was the ornate red and white pagoda of Jofuku-in Temple, showcasing the complex relationship between Burma and Japan. Inside were photographs of Burmese people throughout the decades, as well as artifacts gifted by the country.
Next, we wandered around a few different sites within Kongobu-ji: the main gate and Daimon Garan. Admittedly, the brown wooden buildings of the main gate were not nearly as impressive as the ornate architecture found in Daimon Garan.
The pops of white, red, orange, and teal against the snow were incredible. Golden statues peered down from the buildings above. I wish I had gotten a better angle, but to the one side, there was a little pond with a snow-coated red bridge crossing over it. As if it couldn’t get any better, behind me, there was the pleasing sound of chunks of snow falling from the altar’s roof and crashing on the ground below.
At this point, my husband and I were starting to get temple fatigue, which I can attest is a real thing! There are just so many gorgeous temples to look at in Koyasan, but I decided to call it a day after a look at Daimon Gate.
Having worked our way back down the main street, Daimon Gate stood right where we’d come in by bus that morning. In person, the massive red structure towered over us. From between the arches, we could see a sign across the highway saying that the outside temperature was -.1 degrees Celsius, or 31.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Thankfully, our wooly layers kept us warm the entire day.
Back to Nara
Keeping on with our good luck, the bus came just a few minutes later. The snow was nearing whiteout conditions, which reassured my decision to leave around mid-afternoon. With some time to wait between the bus, the cable car, and the train, it took nearly three and a half hours to get home. Our consolation was making it home right at dinnertime, ending the night with a warm bath, a Christmas movie, and a mug of hot chocolate.
Koyasan might be one of my favorite trips thus far, which I honestly wasn’t expecting. My only regret is that we didn’t get to explore the hiking trails nearby, so perhaps a second trip is in order next year. Kurotaki and Nosegawa village are nearby, and I’d like to pay a visit if I can. Regardless, I cannot wait to explore more of Wakayama Prefecture and share those travels with you all!
Access:
From Osaka Station, take the Osaka Loop Line to Shin-Imamiya Station. Transfer to the Nankai Koya Line Limited Express bound for Hashimoto Station. At Hashimoto Station, transfer again to the Nankai Koya Line bound for Gokurakubashi Station. From there, you can either take the Fudozaka pilgrimage route for 2.5 kilometers (about 50 minutes) or take the cable car and bus up to the top of Koyasan. There’s also the Choshi Michi route, but a section is closed off due to damage from landslides.
From Nara Station, take the Yamatoji Line Rapid to Shin-Imamiya Station. Just like from Osaka, you’ll take the Nankai Koya Limited Express to Hashimoto Station, then to Gokurakubashi Station. You can use your IC card on all three modes of transportation.
To get to Koyasan from Osaka will take just under 3 hours, including the short cable car and bus ride. It takes 3.5 hours to get to Koyasan from Nara.
The main street of Koyasan is only a few kilometers long, so you won’t need the bus once you’re up there. There’s a number of pilgrimage and hiking trails nearby, although we didn’t venture down any of them this time around. As I said, we were there for around four hours, which was plenty of time, but you can easily spend the entire day there. Contrary to other mountain towns, there’s a Family Mart and a few izakayas that are open in the evening, so you won’t run out of food!
If you want to stay overnight, the only type of accommodation available is temple stays, which allow you to participate in early morning Buddhist rituals and dine as the monks do. This is a really cool experience, but it will come at a significant cost: think 70,000 yen and above.
Although it’s quite far, I highly recommend Koyasan for a taste of Wakayama Prefecture. To the spiritual and non-spiritual alike, this place has something special about it that I hope everyone can experience for themselves while in Japan.
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