The main gate greeting pilgrims.
The Buddha statue near the entrance.
Lanterns light the way on special festival days.
The main temple.
The morning rain was misting off of the rooves of the temples.
In the 21st century, students of the faith now go to college.
Note the wheel of life in the College window. I saw several monks and nuns walking to or from class.
One of the temples down the road.
Many of the prominent families of Japan have monuments in the large Okunoin cemetary.
House of the dead?.
This must be the house of the local fairies.
These little guys reminded me of the Pod People from The Dark Crystal. We were later told that these
are shrines created for children who have died before their parents did, to give them assistance in the afterlife.
Buddha statues near the mausoleum for Kobo Daishi, the monk who founded the Shingon sect. The mausoleum used to
be filled with 10,000 oil fueled lanterns, but many of them have now been converted to electric light. No pictures of
the mausoleum were allowed, but I bought some trinkets inside.
Pod People Pyramid.
I stayed in one of the temples that opens its doors to tourists.
The painted screen doors of the anteroom.
The vegetarian dinner was a real feast. I would be surprised if this is really what the monks eat everyday.
I took the pilgrim's path out of Koya San and saw some amazing views.
I did not realize that the pilgrim's path bypasses the cable car up to the village and ended up walking two
hours down the often steep path to the train station. I walked over this bridge and had to walk on the train tracks up to the station.