Japan
Mount Koya
Everyone visits the major temples in Kyoto and Nara, but these days they are little more than tourist
attractions -- albeit pretty ones. They lack that lived in, struggle for enlightenment feel. Mount Koya, the
secluded mountain temple complex of Esoteric Shingon Buddhism in Wakayama Prefecture, is a
hideaway for a more authentic, massive temple experience. Located in the heart of the Kii mountains, it
was founded in 816 by the monk Kukai, the mythical founder of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. The complex
houses 100 temples, many offering lodging, and the most famous cemetery in Japan leading to Kukai's
tomb. A walk through the cemetery is an otherworldly experience dominated by centuries-old cedar trees
and hundreds of moss-covered stone Buddhas playing hide and seek in the mist.
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