{"id":8411,"date":"2013-12-22T16:18:12","date_gmt":"2013-12-22T14:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/seidenpriester.wordpress.com\/?p=8411"},"modified":"2019-03-24T22:38:08","modified_gmt":"2019-03-24T21:38:08","slug":"koyasan-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/?p=8411","title":{"rendered":"Koyasan"},"content":{"rendered":"

With breakfast from a 7evelen I start the ride with the Loop Line. After two stations I change into the Koya-Nankai-Line. This time the gates are clearly seperated. Even with Kansai Pass I have to pay a Ltd. Express fee. From the second last station Koyashita the train tracks are winding uphill; rock on the left, abyss to the right. It is a mystic atmosphere, fog is hanging in the trees.<\/p>\n

For the last mile I have to use a cable car. The thermometer is showing 46\u00b0F. Upstairs it is fallen to 39\u00b0F. The next half mile is a compilation of curves and pedestrians are not allowed. Fog everywhere. To be precisely: clouds. And I am inside. Drizzle. It is cold.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Tokugawa Mausoleum<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Koyasan<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Koyasan<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Koyasan Stone Lantern<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Arriving at Koyasan<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Koyasan<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Koyasan 1<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I take the bus and get off at the Tokugawa Mausoleum. Looks good. A nice beginning. It starts to rain. I walk to the city center, passing several temples. There are more than 100.\u00a0 In ancient times there were over 1000. Koyasan is looking like a cozy little town.<\/p>\n

I reach the beginning of the forest track Sando. It leads to the most important temple, Torodo. The whole forest is a graveyard with thousand of tombs, stone columns and Stupa. The are weathered; covered with moss. High cedar trees, drizzle and a little bit of fog. The perfect atmosphere for this place. Here the time has stopped.<\/p>\n

Behind the bridge no cameras are allowed. A monk is giving me some powder that I have to rub into my hands. An incense. He also gives me a small package to take it home. Here are only monks, pilgrims and I. This is like the end of the modern world and the beginning of the spiritual.<\/p>\n

The main hall is impressive. I would like to take some pictures but I respect the rules. I embrance the moment. I hear chanting. Next to the main hall a smaller one with hundreds of iron lantern hanging from the ceiling. Where is the Okunoin? I ask a monk. I have to enter the temple, turn right. It is behind the sliding door.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Okunoin<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Gokusho<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Okunoin, Koyasan<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Gokusho<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Koyasan 2<\/strong><\/h5>\n

I take a taxi back. Next stop Kongobu-ji. No shoes. At 39\u00b0F. That is mean. There are many rooms with sliding doors with zen-paintings on them. The corridor is a leading to a big hall with tatami floor. There is a small stone garden between the buildings. Tea is served. Behind the hall is another bigger stone garden.<\/p>\n

The next point in my list is the Jakai. This is no temple. It is a buddhism ritual at the Daishi Kyokai temple. There is some time left before it starts, so I go to the museum around the corner. Acient scrolls and pictures. No I have to hurry. I forgot my umbrella. Back to the museuem. I am back on time but I am the only one. Ups.<\/p>\n

I monk is asking my name. I follow him into the main hall. We are passing the golden Buddha statue and enter the „off limits“ area into a hall. It is dark. No light but two candles at the altar. I sit down at the tatami mat. A monk is closing the sliding doors. The priest is entering and sitting down in front of me. I only see his silhouette. Drums. Chanting. Chimes. The Jukai starts with a Mantra. Then I have to repeat his works. Aiyee. Now my japanese knowledge is needed. A monk is repeating with me. That is a lot of help. I syncronize with him. Then I have to step forward. The priest is giving me a envelope. Another mantra and it is over. Impressive ritual. Nothing special but powerful.\u00a0 A special holiday experience. The Jukai vow<\/a>!<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Garan<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Koyasan Daimon<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Kongobujin<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Konpon Daito Pagoda<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Garan<\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Kongobujin Garden<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
Koyasan 3<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The fog is vanising. Koysan is loosing some of its mysticism; I need more fog. Sadly enough that there is no snow. It was a good idea to do the Sando first. Without the fog it would only be a pathway in the forest. The last stop on my list is the Danjo Garan; a pagoda (Konpon Daito); Huge. 157ft. There are three „smaller“ one. Also the Kondo, the big hall, is really big. The entrance is closed. A warning sign. Snowslides from the roof. Damned. Looks like the had plenty of snow a few days ago. I visit the inside of the pagode before the close. Dawn is starting. The fog is back. A lot of fog. Hard to take pictures. My tripod is still in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

There is time left to visit the daimon, the big entrance gate to Koyasan. It really is dai = big. The roof ridge is hidden in the fog. The exposure time is on its limit. No more pictures without a tripod. Now it is dinner time an the then the ride back to Oosaka. The last open resto is next to the bus station; Tendon; Sake; Souvenirs.<\/p>\n

Bus, ropeway and train are coordinated perfectly. This is Japan. I leave Koyasan behind me in the mystic fog. 2 hours later Namba, Oosaka. What a contrast. Neon lights. People everywhere. Sky scrapers. Loud and hectic. Amusement. The combination of food, drinks and women (optional). I discover a small booth on the street with Takoyaki. Looks like a gaijin like me was not expected. The is not the typical tourist street and food supply.<\/p>\n

<\/a>
Osaka Namba<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/a>
Tsutenkaku Tower<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n

On the way back to the ryokan I do a small diversion to the radio tower, the landmark of Oosaka. No anime in Oosaka without a reference to this tower. Green illuminated. They want to tear it down but the people of Oosaka stopped the project. On the way back I have a feeling of dejavu. Maybe I walked this way in\u00a0 2004.<\/p>\n

[P.S.:i took a picture at the train station in Oosaka. A departure every 4 minutes. This is only possible if trains are on time. Not possible in Germany. For the Deutsche Bahn a delay of 15 miuntes is still „on time“. In comparsion the japanese rail network is a swiss clock. The time table for the train driver is listing seconds for the departure time. No kidding.]\n

[deutscher Blogeintrag<\/a>]\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With breakfast from a 7evelen I start the ride with the Loop Line. After two stations I change into the Koya-Nankai-Line. This time the gates are clearly seperated. Even with Kansai Pass I have to pay a Ltd. Express fee. From the second last station Koyashita the train tracks are winding uphill; rock on the…Continue reading Koyasan<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13895,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,58,72],"tags":[180,182,237,257,380,467,468,470,477,478,489,532,575,635,636,694,782,875,888,889,909],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8411"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.seidenpriester.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}