By: John Helgeson, JET Program ALT 2006-2007, Aichi-ken

My alarm chimes. I can hardly believe it is time to wake up already. It seems like I just laid my head down to rest. I reach over to shut it off. It is still dark in the small room. I sit up on my futon. The air is crisp. If the light was on, I’m sure that I could see my breath. Too tired to move swiftly, I can hear the alarms chiming in the other rooms. This is not surprising since the walls are paper thin.

I finally get up and turn the light on. My wife is in the same disheveled state as I am. I put on my yukata and walk down the cold corridor to the sink. My body is somewhat stiff from the hard futon and even harder pillow. I reach the sink and wash my face. The freezing water shocks me at first, but is pleasantly refreshing. It snaps me into a quicker mode. I shave and brush my teeth. I meet my wife in the hallway, and together we arrive at our room.

The gong summons us. We hurriedly put on our clothes and head toward the morning service area. We don’t want to be late! When we arrive at the service, we take off our slippers and place them next to the pile that has already begun to mount. We slide open the door which reveals a dimly lit room. On our right sits several pilgrims. On our left sits the remaining guests, whom we join. Shortly after we sit, the service begins.

Three monks share in the duties of chanting and ringing bells. The entire experience is quite mesmerizing. I close my eyes, taking in the whole experience. The fragrance of incense wafts around the room, bringing with it the chanting melody, which finds its way deep inside me. Simultaneously, my stiff shoulders begin to relax, and my quick breathing slows to a regular pace.

When the chanting stops, the head monk turns to face his audience. He is a gentle man. The soft features of his face and his smile radiate in the dark room. He talks about the balance of nature and the spirituality that exists in the world. He speaks both in Japanese and English enabling his entire audience to understand his message.

This is what a morning is like on Mount Koya. On the previous day, we had taken a train up the mountain to Gokurakubashi Station. The ride was quite beautiful. A sea of green spread on both sides of the rail. We had not ventured to the mountains yet, so this ride was splendid. When we reached Gokurakubashi Station, we boarded a cable car that would take us straight up the side of the mountain. I was a bit nervous because of my fear of heights, but the beauty that surrounded me suppressed some of my nerves. I expected to be at our destination when we arrived at the top, but we had arrived at what appeared to be a remote bus stop, except there were several buses awaiting passengers. We boarded one of the buses and began the winding journey to our temple.

The ride was brief. We got off the bus and looked for the temple with six coins. Many of the temples offered shukubo, or temple stay. We had decided to get the full experience of Mount Koya by staying in one of these temples. We walked a short distance after our stop before seeing six round coins near the gate of the temple in front of us. A small pathway led us to the entrance. Walking down the path, we noticed a raked garden to our left and the wooden temple structure in front of us. A few steps in front of us were some brown slippers that awaited our arrival. We took off our shoes, put on the slippers, and placed our outdoor shoes in the shoeboxes on our left. A monk, dressed in a gray robe, greeted us and showed us to the office where we talked about our reservation and paid for our stay. After paying, another monk showed us to the room we would stay in. He led us through several corridors, turning here and there, before we arrived on the second floor. When we arrived at our room, some high school aged boys, who were studying to become monks, were making the final preparations for our room. They smiled and quickly exited. We took off our slippers, placed them neatly behind us, and entered our tatami mat room. After setting our bags down, we sat at the kotatsu and enjoyed some hot green tea. We hadn’t seen much of Koyasan, but we were excited! While we enjoyed our tea, we decided where we would visit. There were roughly two hours before evening meditation, and we wanted to explore! Of course, it wasn’t required to attend meditation, but we thought it would be a great way to enjoy the start of our evening.

Once we finished our green tea and Japanese sweets, we decided to visit two of the sites close to our temple. A short walking distance away we stopped at the Tokugawa Family Mausoleum. This mausoleum consisted of two buildings. One was dedicated to Iesayu and the other was dedicated to his son, Hidetada. These twin buildings were covered in ornate details. Gold, green, and brown colors stretched around the front of each building and made their way to the rear of each. Surrounded by towering trees, the buildings were quite breathtaking. We took several pictures before moving on to Kongobuji Temple.

Kongobuji Temple serves as the headquarters for Koyasan Shingon-shu Buddhism. The temple was originally constructed in 1593 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and later rebuilt in 1863. This temple was pretty impressive. There were several rooms giving us the longing to fully engage in our surroundings. Many of the rooms contained elaborately painted screens, which were completed in the 16th century. These delicate screens possessed intriguing qualities. For me, the screens were a highlight as I have always cherished the elegance of historic Japanese painted screens. With the vast number of screens, each turn within the temple provided a captivating look, different from the one that preceded it.



My wife was not as impressed with the screens. Instead, she was captivated by Japan’s largest rock garden. The rock garden represented a pair of dragons within a sea of clouds. As a matter of fact, I was also captivated by the garden. This was actually my first visit to a large rock garden, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I found it inspiring. I had just visited the art of the Japanese screens, and now, I was witnessing the artistic brilliance of the Japanese rock garden. We spent a few peaceful moments admiring the scenery before returning inside the temple.

Once inside, we followed the designated tour path to the great Shinbetsuden room, where we enjoyed more green tea and sweets. This was a great ending to our visit. We were able to talk about what we had seen in tow of the areas we had visited. It was already an amazing visit, and we had so much more to see! Our time quickly passed, and we found we needed to return to our temple for evening meditation.

We arrived at our temple just in time for evening meditation. We took off our slippers and entered the dimly lit room. Some chanting started the service, followed by about thirty minutes of meditation. I had never been to a meditation before, so it was refreshing. After having had a busy day of traveling and viewing the places we already had since our arrival to Koyasan, the meditation really helped me to relax and reflect on my experience so far.

When the meditation commenced, we were led to the dining area. My wife and I were seated across from each other, but the distance between us was somewhat far. Each person had his or her own small table and a pillow to sit on. Sitting cross-legged, I anxiously awaited the shojin-ryori, or vegetarian cuisine, commonly eaten by monks. One-by-one the teenage boys, we had seen earlier, entered the tatami mat dining area, each bringing a portion of our meal. The seasoned tofu, rice, and vegetables were delicious. But, perhaps, the more gratifying part of the meal was talking to other travelers. I found the people and their stories fascinating. For this reason, it made the evening more special when the elderly mother of the chief priest entered the room and told her story of Koyasan and the temple her husband once headed.



My wife and I rejoined after the meal. The dark night sky had settled it, and we were ready for an evening stroll. One of the middle-aged women who had sat near us at dinner mentioned visiting Okunoin, an area where an immense cemetery stood. It was bit of a walk to the cemetery, but our enthusiasm led the way. Lighted stone lamps presented us with enough light to walk along the cobble-stoned path. Tall cyprus trees prevented any moon light from entering. Grave after grave, numbering more than 200,000, were at our sides. Long, dark shadows lingered at all depths. For the few visitors it was a moment where souls seemed at peace; however, it also created a ghostlike atmosphere. The night sounds eventually trickled into eeriness, so we returned to the temple. Our timing was impeccable, as the bath time would soon end.

There was a communal bath for men and one for women. I was lucky enough to have the entire bath to myself. After I undressed and rinsed my body, I eased myself into the hot water and absorbed the heat which warmed me from the frigid night air of the cemetery. Thoughts of the day passed through my mind transgressing into thoughts of what transpired on the mountain years ago.

Feeling refreshed from the bath, I ascended the stairs to my room. My wife joined me after a few minutes. We were exhausted from our day, and we needed to wake early for the morning service, so we unrolled our futons and prepared for our night sleep.



After the morning ceremony, the next day, we went to the dining hall and had a breakfast consisting of rice, tofu, and soup. We were excited to continue our tour, so the breakfast was quick. When we finished our meal, we returned to the cemetery to see the difference daylight had on the place. It was as if we were in a new cemetery. The ghostlike images of the night before were replaced with a gentleness of a spiritual place. Several visitors, as well as pilgrims walked the stone-cobbled path. The bells of the pilgrims jingled with every step signaling their presence. We took most of our morning touring the tombstones.











Once we returned from the cemetery, we ventured to the Garan temple complex. The temple complex consisted of a cluster of buildings hundreds of years old. But, the most eye-catching one was the Konpon Daito, or Great Stupa. This bright orange two-storied structure towered over the rest of the buildings. It was rebuilt in 1937, so its age wasn’t the same as the other structures, but it was still spectacular. It stood as a symbol of the Buddhism that represented the mountaintop. While this was impressive to see, the older buildings grabbed my attention the most. I was intrigued by their history. The intricate carvings and the smooth surface of the aging wood stole my attention away from the flaming orange structure. When we finished walking around Garan, we went back to our temple, gathered our things, and boarded the bus destined for Gokurakubashi Station. Our visit had come to an end.

Koyasan was an amazing place to visit. Our time on the mountain had ended swiftly; we were unable to see the entire complex. Regardless, our time spent on the mountain gave us some precious moments of peace. What was a trip by chance became one that was one of our most cherished.