Koyasan

Koyasan or Mount Koya is the site of a large temple settlement about 50km south of Osaka. One of the highlights of Koyasan is the Okuno-in, Koyasan's cemetery, a wonderful, mysterious forest lined with giant, several hundred year old Japanese cedar trees and over 200,000 tombstones and Buddhist memorials. I stayed overnight at one of the temples offering accommodation, which was an interesting way to get a more close-up view of life inside a Buddhist temple. Koyasan lies at an elevation of 800 meter above sea level. There's a cable car that leads from the nearest train station to the top.

The Okuno-in is a magical site. You can sense that it is a spiritual place. There are even tiny statues hidden inside trees.

As you can see many statues are dressed in bibs and little knit caps. Some are even adorned with lipstick. These icons are called Jizos, or Jizo Bosatsu, named for a Bodhisattva divinity of Buddhism that has been part of Japanese culture for centuries. The caps and scarves are added to protect the divinity from the elements, while the bibs symbolize Jizo’s protection of children.

More Japan! The Tsukiji Fish Market before it closed for good, Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka.