YI was kind enough to spend her 'honeymoon' with us. We met up 2 days after the wedding and spend some time in Osaka (more on that later).
After meeting my other friend in Osaka for tea and having our lunch, we headed to a remote monastery (or should I say monasteries?) on a lonely mountain south of Osaka.
After a 2 hours train-ride, we arrived at half-way point of the mountain (Gokurakubashi station/極楽橋駅). The train ride itself was also quite amazing as the area is really quite remote and the train was constantly moving upwards. We weren't able to see the peak of the mountain from where we were, and I knew I wasn't hiking up the mountain! Luckily, there is a funicular train that takes you up to the top. It was rainy outside, but the ride was rather nice. The scenery will be very beautiful if there were autumn leaves.
Nevermind that, we have arrived! Almost. When we got out from the station, we had to find our accommodation for the night. What's different about this night is that we were going to do some temple lodging (Shukubo/宿坊). Mt Koya is a mountain filled with monastries/temples and some of them are opened to visitors/pilgrams.
A bit of history about the place:
It was first settled in 819 by a monk called Kukai/空海 (aka Kobo Daishi/弘法大師) and it is the headquarters of the Shingon (真言) sect of Japanese Buddium. There are over 100 temples on the mountains, and also a university dedicated to religious studies! According to the history books, there used to be around 1,000 temples on the mountain during the Edo (江戸) period.
A point worth mentioning is that Mount Koya usually serves as the first stop or the final stop on the 88 Temple Pilgrimage (八十八ヶ所巡り) on the island of Shikoku (四国). This Pilgrimage is Japan's most famous pilgrimage route. The circuit loops around the entire island of Shikoku through 88 temples plus an optional 20 temples, which were said to be founded or restored by the Kukai/空海.
Staying in one of the temples wasn't cheap exactly. In fact, it is around double of what we usually pay. Ms YI was concerned that I may not be accustomed to the regular rooms so we opted for the rooms on the 'middle' category. We waited for a bus and after a 10-minute ride, we finally arrived at Shojoshin-in (清浄心院).
Ms YI told me that the booker mentioned that it is very popular with westerners because it is more pretty.
We were impressed by the front yard. The Japanese garden was really pretty.
We entered and checked-in. The lady took us to our room. It was a total luxury! Imagine staying in a room painted with REAL gold and silver. The tatami (畳) was of superb quality. There were old paintings and calligraphy hanging on the wall. It could easier be the room of a wealthy man! Furthermore, there was all the modern convenience: a heater, hot water boiler and even a TV! We were impressed.
A bit of info on tatami:
Apparently, tatami are made in standard size, usually of 90cm by 180cm. Half mats (90cm by 90cm) are also made. (The 'standard' occasionally varies between the major regions.) However, the size of a room is usually measured by the number of tatami mats. So, the dimensions of the rooms in Japanese home are usually of multiples of 90cm. Usually, the rooms in Japan can fit at least four and a half tatami mats.
There are also rules concerning how the tatami mats should be laid. An inauspicious layout is said to bring bad fortune. According to Wiki, 'In homes, the mats must not be laid in a grid pattern, and in any layout there is never a point where the corners of three or four mats intersect.'
Anyway, back to business:
Ms YI and I in the living section of our room. Walls painted in real gold.
The bedroom section of the room. Walls painted in real gold. Three EXCELLENT futons (布団). All three of us had a really good sleep that night.
The meals are included in the price of the accommodation. This is a temple so the food is naturally vegetarian (shojin ryori/精進料理). Now... I was never that keen on vegetarian food. For those of you who know my eating preference, most of the things that I don't like eating are vegetables. So the hit rate is quite high. I was getting worried.
Nevertheless, dinner was served. Dinner was held in the room next to our bedroom, which in turn, is next to the living room. (So in fact, we had 3 rooms to ourselves!)
No gold or silver walls this time. Just some ancient paintings and some good food.
Photo with the food!
Above is a picture of our meal. It was exquisite and beautifully arranged. The meal was served green tea but we also ordered some 'trappist' sake.
The local speciality of Mt Koya is the Koya-dofu (高野豆腐) and Goma-dofu (胡麻豆腐).
Koya-dofu is prepared by freeze-drying and then reconstituting tofu. The tofu has a long shelf life and it provides access to tofu during the harsh winter months.
Goma-dofu is not really tofu. It is made from white sesame seeds, water and potato starch. It was very smooth. It is served with a bit of soy and a tiny dab of wasabi. It was so smooth that it was even 'silkier' than drinking soy milk.
Apart from the tofu dishes, there were also a hot pot, soup, some konbu (昆布), tempura, beans, and many other vegetables which I don't remember anymore. In the end, I ate everything except the cucumber-like pickle! The food was so good and it was such a pleasant surprise!
After dinner, we thought we will give calligraphy a go. Even SP gave it a go! We were writing a very famous Buddish prayer (般若波羅密多心經) and was hoping to offer it to the Budda the next morning. I haven't written with a brush since primary school and my writing turned out rather badly. I hope the Budda won't mind. It's the thought that counts! :)
Ms YI is much better trained in this area. Here is the pro at work!
The result was beautiful writing!
We had to wake up at around 5:30am to prepare for the morning service the next morning so we called it an early night.
The morning services was attended by mainly Western visitors and it seemed to prove what the accommodation booker said (this temple is popular with Westerners). No one knew what to do. As we walked in, they thought we are Japanese and their eyes were fixed on us, trying to see what we do. We decided to sit (rather than kneel) on the bench with them. Then the monks start chanting mantras. The whole thing took about 30 minutes. We stayed behind and offered some incense.
Then, breakfast was served (sorry, no photos this time. The photographer was too sleepy, I think! hahaha). After the meal, the photographer went crazy and took lots of photos of the place:
We then packed up and signed-out of the temple. While we were waiting for the next bus back to the station, we took a walk around the mass cemetery. There are hundreds of thousands of graves on this mountain, which dates back to around 1,000 year ago! Some of the graves that we saw were finely built and decorated. I read that some members of the royal household were also buried here. One interesting aspect of the cemetery in Koyasan is that many Japanese companies set up 'corporate graves sites' here. In Japan, one's company is pretty much like a family and when an employee dies, he/she may be interred at the company's grave site.
The part of graveyard that we saw was on the entrance to the forest and it was ancient, probably containing some of the older graves.
Before we knew it, it was time to get to the bus stop and return to Osaka. It was a very memorable trip and I would definitely recommend you to do the trip. Both SP and I would like to return there should we get the chance to visit Japan again.
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