- Hey everyone, good morning it's Micaela.
I'm actually inside of Kansai International Airport,
not Fukuoka today.
And, I'm about to head over to Wakayama.
I visited Wakayama last year for an Ninja project
and it was gorgeous, I really loved it.
I wanted to see more.
So today, I'm gonna head out back to Wakayama
to Kudoyama Town and check out Mount Koya
and I'm really excited.
(air whooshing) With historical roots
in the Sengoku period, we're starting out our journey
in Kudoyama Town, at the base of the spiritual Mount Koya
or Koyasan in Japanese.
Over the next three days, our journey will take us
from the bottom of the mountain to an overnight stay
at a real Buddhist temple.
Get ready to take a deep dive with me,
into a very traditional side of Japan.
So now, we've arrived at Kudoyama station
and as you can see, it's quite quiet.
There's not much going on around here.
It's a very, very serene, very "inaka" (countryside).
They say that the population of Kudoyama Town
is only about 4000 people, so it's not very big.
Still, I can't wait to see
what they have going on around here, wee!
So, Kudoyama Town is very proud of its historic connection
to the Sanada clan.
You can see these "rokumonsen" symbols,
the six circles everywhere across town.
For those of you who are interested in the Japanese history,
it is said that the Sanada clan was exiled to Kudoyama Town
after fighting on the losing side
of the Battle of Sekigahara,
known as the greatest Samurai battle of all time
that ultimately pitted the East against the West.
The Sanada clan later fought during the siege of Osaka,
15 years later, where they were ultimately killed in battle.
Their story and their history are deeply intertwined
with the town's identity.
(digital swishing)
After a quick lunch, I headed over to Kanazawa Juo-Ken
to take part in a class teaching
how to make Japanese confectionary sweets.
All right, so I've put my hat on
and I'm about to wash my hands and I'm going to learn
how to make Japanese sweets in this cute little factory.
I'm very excited.
Cooking experiences are some of my favorite things to do
when traveling because they really open you up
to different cultures in a really immersive way.
Even living in Japan, I'm not so confident working
with bean paste to make desserts,
but these step-by-step instructions were so easy to follow
and I was really happy with the result.
They're both
daffodils.
(participants laughing in background)
So, we're at the end of the day
and we have arrived at our final destination,
final destination and we're here at Kuwaraku
which is famous for kakinohasushi,
which is basically oshizushi pressed inside
a persimmon leaf.
But, that's not all.
This sushi restaurant is actually
where we're staying tonight.
They also have a minpaku,
Airbnb type room in the back
where guests can stay overnight, which is pretty cool.
In a small town like this, you have to be versatile
in your trade, I guess.
Anyway, we're already starting our lesson.
We're gonna learn how to make kaki no ha sushi.
And, I'm just gonna hop in here and join.
The rural Wakayama area is known
for a bright orange fruit called the persimmon.
There are trees everywhere.
In kakinohasushi, the fish is first preserved
in a very strong vinegar and then wrapped in
the giant persimmon leaf and left overnight.
This traditional method of preserving
and wrapping the sushi allows it to stay good
for up to three days.
Making it the perfect snack to take on a pilgrimage
or a hike through the mountains.
So, the sushi that we made today,
we're not gonna eat today, actually.
We're gonna take it with us on our hike
through Mount Koya tomorrow and it's gonna be like
our little bento packed lunch and I'm so excited to try it
and now, it's super dark.
It is nighttime (chuckles).
Good morning.
Can you see that mist forming in the air?
But, it is 7:30 a.m. and we're just packing up our stuff.
And, we're going to go hiking in Koyasan
and I'm so excited and, apparently,
there's some really amazing historic shrines up there
that are super photogenic and that's my shit.
So, I'm really excited to get going in
and it's like, I don't even mind that it's an early morning
and I don't even mind that it's cold,
like I just wanna get out there.
I'm so excited, let's go.
Today, we embark on our pilgrimage to Koyasan
starting at Jison-In Temple
at the base of the mountain in Kudoyama.
Originally, Koyasan was a Buddhist mountain strictly for men
and women were not allowed to make the pilgrimage to the top
of the mountain.
So, they were given Jison-in to pray at instead.
These days, this temple is known for its feminine energy
and is a popular place locally to pray for women's health,
safe childbirth, marriage, and so on.
After a brief stop to pray for our safety during the hike,
we began the two and a half hour, eight kilometer hike
up the mountain.
We're taking an easy modified route
that only takes us about a third of the way up,
but for hikers going to whole way,
you can expect a 24 kilometer hike to take
about six to seven hours.
The winding paths slowly brings you up the mountain,
leaving Kudoyama Town in the distance.
'Kay, so, we have walked six and 1/2 kilometers
to reach the checkpoint where we are now
and it's time to finally try the kakinohasushi.
This is a marinated saba fish on top.
It's not raw.
It's been marinated, so it doesn't go bad as quickly
as regular raw fish sushi does.
It has a very special sort of fragrant flavor to it.
And, I feel like it's really important to mention
that you don't eat the leaf.
You don't eat the leaf, you just eat the sushi.
It's a good snack.
It kinda wakes you up.
Perfect, 'cause we're about to continue chucking
along this path for a little bit longer.
After a little detour, we walked another two kilometers
and arrived at Niutsuhime Shrine.
A Shinto shrine that is said to be the guardian
of the Buddhist Mount Koya.
It's interesting to see how both religions exist in harmony
on the mountain.
(religious leader chanting in foreign language)
While I was here, I decided to participate
in a ceremonial cleansing or an exorcism of bad luck.
This is something I've never done before,
but after hearing that this year is supposed
to be unlucky for me, I'm kinda glad I got it done.
And then, it was off to lunch.
Thankfully, a short walk from the shine is a cafe operating
out of an old traditional Japanese house,
where you can enjoy a set lunch made with local ingredients
and even try on and some of the traditional kimono
they have available if you're feeling adventurous.
Fast forward a bit, and after what feels like a long day,
we finally arrived at Rengejo-in Temple
in the Town of Mount Koya.
All right, it has been a long day and I'm so tired
and we have finally arrived at Koyasan
to the temple where we will be staying the night.
So, we've got all my luggage.
I'm finding my luggage.
It's beautiful.
So, this is the place of our shukubo.
A shukubo literally means sleeping with monks
and refers to temples, open to guests staying the night.
Originally open to traveling pilgrims
in need of a place to stay,
shukubo are now popular tourist attraction
for Japanese and foreigners alike,
looking for a spiritually cleansing getaway
from everyday life.
In Mount Koya alone, there are over 50 locations
where shukubo is available.
Now, it's typical Japanese ryokan-type hotels.
This is typically a lounge area during the day
and then once you go to eat your dinner,
the staff will come in and they'll lay down the futons
and set it up for bedtime.
So, that's why you don't see a bedroom in here right now.
But, these garden terrace views
are very, very nice, very relaxing.
And, here's my room where I'm staying.
The heater's on.
It's really, really nice in here.
As you can see, I have my lounge area.
I've got my bed
and then right beyond the bed space,
I have my own lounge area for views of the garden.
Once we've settled into our rooms,
we were invited to join in on several Buddhist ceremonies,
including the goma-daki ceremony,
where wood panels are burned in order
to grant the wishes written upon them.
After that, we had
a 40 minute silent meditation before dinner.
All right, so now, we're here for meditation.
The ambience is amazing.
Oh, it's cold.
It's time to eat.
I'm very excited.
It's shojin-ryouri which is Buddhist traditional food
that doesn't contain any animal products.
Very nice considering we did all that hiking today,
so this should leave us with a calorie deficit.
We'll be shredded in the morning.
At 5:55 a.m., the bell rang and guests were called
to the the meditation room to participate
in the six a.m. religious ceremonies.
This practice is supposed to help sharpen your mind
for the day ahead, but if you're not sure
what you should be doing, it helps to just go with the flow
and copy the people around you.
This is my first time coming to Koyasan
and I've heard stories about people making the pilgrimage
up to the temples, through the mountains.
It was my first time ever doing it myself and coming here
and it is truly a very spiritual and magical place.
I feel like if you're looking
to do something very cleansing and spiritual
during your trip to Japan,
this is something that I would throw on the list
because it just, it's so serene.
I even feel bad for talking right now.
It's so serene today, so quiet, so calm and peaceful,
like overwhelmingly peaceful up here, it's beautiful.
I spent the day on a guided walk around Mount Koya
ending up at Okunoin, Japan's largest cemetery stretching
two kilometers in distance.
According to Shingon Buddhism,
it's the home of many meditating spirits.
The silence isn't that frightening.
It's actually extremely calming.
With so many different places to explore in Mount Koya,
it's hard to truly grasp all of its history
and cultural significance in just one visit.
The more you learn, the more there is to learn.
For those interested in going deeper,
it might even be worth staying an extra day.
All right, so after spending a day wandering around Koyasan,
I'm ready to take a cable car back down
to the Hashimoto station, head back to Osaka,
get to Kansai Airport and go home.
And, we hiked halfway up, no,
a third of the way up to Koyasan
and then drove the rest of the way.
But, you can also take a cable car.
And so, I'm looking forward
to the cable car scenery on the way down.
Okay, I personally think three days was a little ambitious.
I would have liked to have spent more time in Koyasan.
I hope I can go back someday.
It's a little far from Fukuoka, but if you live
on the Kansai area, this is a really cool trip to make
and I would definitely recommend it.
If you're interested in booking any of the experiences
that you saw in this video,
you can find them in the description box below along
with a more detailed itinerary.
Thank you guys for watching this video
and coming along with me on this adventure.
If you have climbed Mount Koya or have stayed overnight
at a Buddhist temple, what are the tips that you would
wanna give to the other travelers wanting to have
the same experience,?
Leave a comment below and I'll talk to you soon, bye!