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From cobblestoned Portuguese alleys navigated one-handed with a stroller to reef dives in Fiji, this is where the trips live. Told through words and whatever camera happened to be with me.
I shoot film and digital and travel with family in tow. These posts are part travel journal, part photography log, and part love letter to the places that made an impression. I hope they make you want to go see them for yourself.
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Koyasan - Japan
After a long day of travel getting here, we lay on our comfortable mattresses preparing to sleep when the deep hum of a gong reverberated from the forest and filled the room. It was a low tone that you feel more so than hear and one that had the hairs standing on the backs of our necks.
Kongobuji Kompon Daito Pagoda. Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Serenity and the Ghost
Read Previous Part II - Kanazawa, Japan →
It’s tempting to focus on dazzling urban centers when visiting Japan, especially for a photography enthusiast. If you’re up for taking-in a breathtakingly ancient and quiet place for a few days, however; I’ve got just the spot for you. Koyasan, the home of Shingon Buddhism in Japan, is a tiny mountaintop village known for it’s clean air, dense forests, beautiful monasteries with their ryokan accommodations, and the ancient Okunoin cemetery. If that sounds interesting, read on! Let’s start with how to get here.
Rail is the way to go in Japan, Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Chasing trains on the way to Koyasan. Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
This way up to Koyasan! Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
The interior of the funicular forms a bit of an optical illusion. Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Nankai Koyasan Cable Line, the funicular that takes you up the steep slope to Koyasan Station. Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
As is the case with most travel in Japan, the train is the mode of choice for getting to Koyasan. We left from Kyoto and spent a lovely morning winding through Osaka and into the more quiet villages in the southern foothills. You change trains twice, once in the village of Hashimoto and again when you arrive at the funicular station. This was my first time on a funicular and it was definitely a fascinating experience. Our minds are programmed for trains to be level, so walking up a staircase within the train to get from the back to front can be a bit vertigo inducing! The short ride up the hill and through the trees gives the sense of gradually entering a different world, which proved a fitting feeling given where we ended up.
Awe-inspiring 11th century Daimon Gate, Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Most of the lodging in Koyasan is in the form of “ryokan” or pilgrim’s lodgings, which are effectively private rooms within a monastery. We stayed at the Fukuchi-in Temple Ryokan and I’d highly recommend it. (Since our visit they updated their website which now provides some great guidance to visiting Koyasan). The accommodation is spartan but impeccably clean and comfortable, and in keeping with the lifestyle of the monks who live there. Food is served to you in a dedicated room and with multiple servers who bring delicate traditional vegetarian dishes unique to the area that are as delicious as they are simple. There is an onsen on site which again is basic but utterly relaxing with its hot-spring fed waters bubbling in silent surroundings.
If you’re willing to get up early (and you really should), the monks invite you to join them for their morning prayer ceremony. I’ve never attended a Buddhist ceremony before, let alone one in the village at the heart of Shingon Buddhist lore, and I found myself utterly engrossed in the chants and rituals. A tip for would-be worshipers; the room the ceremony is conducted in is open to the outdoors and at that time of year, the air was just above freezing at sunrise. I was underdressed and pretty cold having chosen to wear the traditional garments offered to guests upon arrival but it somehow didn’t detract from (perhaps enhanced?) my enjoyment of the experience.
Fukuchi-in Temple, Koyasan, Praktica LTL. 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
In classical Japanese fashion, the sleeping room is an open and largely empty space with tatami mats on the floor and a large window facing into the deep coniferous forest. After the lengthy day of travel getting here, we lay to rest early on our comfortable mattresses when the deep hum of a gong reverberated from the forest and filled the room. It was a low tone that you feel more so than hear and one that had the hairs standing on the backs of our necks. It was at that moment that one of our friends felt a deliberate but gentle tap right on the center of her forehead. She yelped, startling all of us from our wispy near-sleep states. Was a playful travel companion pranking a friend? Or, a playful spirit passing through? To this day no-one has claimed responsibility for the tap, so…
Manihouto Buddhist Temple. Praktica LTL, 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Koyasan is essentially a one-road-town and easily walkable. While there are a few tiny shops and restaurants along the road, the village is largely dominated by temples, shrines and monasteries. Most visitors eat at their ryokan, but a tiny izakaya just a couple of blocks east of our lodging proved a delightful spot for dinner one night. Even at the izakaya, the restauranteur bade us trust him with the menu (or so we surmised) and served up terrific plates of sushi, pickles and tofu. Very few people we encountered here speak English, but that never seemed to be a barrier.
Okunoin, Praktica LTL, 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
At the far western end of the town lies the Okunoin Cemetery and this is a sight you simply cannot miss if you are in the area. The Okunoin is a deeply spiritual place, the kind you read about in fantasy novels where hero’s and heroines have epiphanies and meet mystical beings. My skin tingles thinking back on it now even as I write this. Its grounds are essentially a 2km long meandering path through dense, tall and lush forest with tombs and graves dating back to at least 816AD lining the path and even scattered hidden behind trees and bushes. It is not as orderly as one might expect in Japan, a product of it’s ancient and seemingly haphazard expansion through the forest over hundreds of years. In Japan it is said that you are born Shintoist but die Buddhist and you certainly feel that here. There are even massive corporate tombs here for firms such as Toshiba, Mazda and other Japanese industrial giants and it is apparently a great honor for an employee to be buried here.
At the end of the walk is the tomb of Kobo Dashi, the founder of Shingon Buddhism. While photos of the tomb are not allowed, you are invited to observe the ceremonies that take place there every day, with monks feeding the spirit of Shingon’s ancient founder. While we experienced the Okunoin with daylight sun filtering through the thick green of the trees, nightime walks are available where the forest is lit entirely by lanterns. I wasn’t aware of this at the time, but might just make the trip back next time I’m in Japan just to experience that -with a different camera of course! The peril of committing to a single ISO with a choice of film stock is missing out on certain opportunities.
Incredible wood patterns under the roof of a pagoda, Praktica LTL, 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
On the eastern end of town lies the Danjo-garan Buddhist Temple complex filled with a variety of ancient buildings and structures including the Kongobuji Kompon Daito Pagoda pictured at the header of this article. There was a nominal fee to enter this area and it’s well worth the spend to see and learn more of Koyasan’s history. The structures themselves are impressive, stunningly large in some cases, and beautifully painted in bright colors with intricate hanging lanterns.
One of the many buildings in the temple complex, Praktica LTL, 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
Walking through history, Praktica LTL, 50mm Meyer-Optik Domiplan Lens, Kodak Portra 400
A trip to Koyasan provides an opportunity to see a part of Japan’s history unfettered by modernity. A rare place, that caters to pilgrims and tourists without loosing it’s authenticity and charm. I hope this short piece entices you to visit someday! Next on our journey, we were back into the hustle of urban Japan with a stop in Hiroshima. A place I’d never thought I’d see, but I’m glad I did.
The Road to Hana and beyond — narrow roads, raw coastline, and the question every traveler faces: turn back, or keep going?