Koyosan

Visiting Koyosan, the center of Shingon Buddhism, an important Buddhist sect which was introduced to Japan in 805. It’s a small, secluded temple town has developed around the sect's headquarters on a wooded mountaintop. There are over one hundred temples making Koyasan one of the best places to experience an overnight stay at a temple lodging. I was able to get a taste of a monk's lifestyle, eat vegetarian monk's cuisine, which had lots of variety of tastes to try and attend the morning prayers. Getting there included a train, to a cable car up the mountainside to a bus to bring us to the town.

My favorite part was a long peaceful morning walk in a wooded cemetery.