A Stay at Eko-in Temple

Rather than write about each place we stayed in Japan, I thought I'd do a round-up at the end. But Eko-in is different and deserves an entry of its own. The mountain retreat of Koya-san (Mt. Koya) was one of the few diversions we took from the typical tourist trail through Japan. It takes long enough to get there (~3 hours) that you really need to stay overnight to do it justice, but what makes the town even more special is that all the lodgings are in Buddhist temples. When I started researching where we should stay, Eko-in stood out, both for its reasonable price, great location, and tourist-friendly vibe.

I made a reservation on Japanican, though the "pay when you arrive' policy made me nervous. About a week out, I received an e-mail from Japanican that our reservation had been cancelled. I e-mailed them right away and started looking for other accommodations still within our budget (difficult at that late date). As soon as morning rolled around in Japan, I received an apologetic e-mail - Japanican's system had been sending out the cancellations e-mails by mistake, rather than confirmations. We still had a place to sleep!

Fast forward to our morning in Nara - after noticing that there were no more direct trains to Koya-san that day, we hurried back to Nara Station and caught the train to Osaka. In Osaka, we found the World Heritage Pass ticket counter and got our package of round trip tickets and bus passes. It was a long train ride, with stops every few minutes. The ticket girl hadn't mentioned anything about a transfer, but I spotted it on my map (or else I would have freaked out when the train stopped and everyone got off). The second train took a while too. I'd resigned myself to missing our veg dinner, but we were happy (yet again) to have a place to sleep for the night.

The train wound up through mountain villages and bright green trees and bamboo forests. After a long pause on the tracks, waiting for a train to pass us in the other direction, we arrived at yet another station, where we caught the incline/cable car. I've been on a few before, but this one was especially disorienting, as the vertical lines inside the car were at such a severe angle to the floor.

At the last terminal, it was such a relief to have station guards standing there, directing us to the right bus and handing us maps of where to find our temple lodging. Eko-in is located about as far from the bus station as possible - which actually turns out to be a plus, as it's very close to Okunoin cemetery, our main reason for visiting. We got off at stop nine and walked a short distance to Eko-in. There was an element of disbelief when we arrived - it was too pretty and looked far too nice, compared to our other lodgings, in the evening light.

As soon as we entered and took off our shoes, a monk in a tee shirt and sweatpants greeted us (in great English). He knew exactly who we were and proceeded to give us a quick tour, showing us where the onsen and toilets were located before taking us to our room on the second floor. Another monk had taken our bags directly there. They let us know they'd kept dinner waiting for us. Such a relief! It was set up in minutes and we were left to enjoy our forest view and try the Shojin Ryori.

Most of the fruit and veg were new to me - I could identify the tea, rice, soba, watermelon, tempura, and the sesame tofu the monk had given us a little history on. (It's a specialty of Koya-san. I'm the farthest thing there is from a picky eater, but I wasn't a fan.)

After dinner, we flipped through the daily schedule and book on the customs and history of Eko-in that came with the room, before going downstairs to join the cemetery tour. To give you a sense of the demographic of overnight guests on this non-holiday weekday, there were probably about thirty people for the English tour and three for the Japanese. We headed into Okunoin as the sun set. By the time we reached the forest and crossed the Ichi Hashi no bridge, it was pitch black.

Our monk-guide introduced us to the cemetery and explained a particular tombstone shape that we'd be seeing over and over. Gorinto represent the different elements - from the bottom to top, the stacked shapes represent earth, water, fire, wind, and space - echoing the journey to enlightenment. (Guiltily, I have to admit most of my understanding of Buddhist tenets comes from the cartoon 'Avatar: the Last Airbender'. It's an amazing show that seems to explain some basics pretty well, so maybe not so guiltily after all?)

As we walked over the second bridge, Naka no Hashi, our monk filled us in on the legend that if you stumble on the stairs that follow, you will die within three years. We also saw a marker for a Panasonic President, who wasn't born into Buddhism, but became an adherent and wished to be buried in Okunoin, donating accordingly. It was one of the few modern, western-ish style markers that we saw in this part of the cemetery. We paused to purify one of the many statues surrounding the edge of the clearing before crossing the third bridge, Gobyo no Hashi.

We bowed again before entering; after this point, no pictures were allowed. In the inner sanctum, the monk explained that Shingon Buddhists believe their founder, Kobo Daishi, is still meditating in his small temple, 1,200 years later. He then chanted a long prayer, which was really beautiful and special in the echoing darkness of the forest. The tour would have been worth it for this moment alone. Of course, as we started to leave the spot in silence, someone ruined the vibe by taking a picture, and getting gently told off for it by the monk.

On the other side of the bridge, we were allowed to walk back at our own pace. Monica had befriended three guys - two brothers from Connecticut and a college roommate from Indiana. They were in Koya-san to hike the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail. We walked back with them, taking our time to weave through the tombstones and chatting. Monica exchanged info so we could meet up with them to explore Koya-san the following day.

Back at Eko-in, our beds were laid out. The monk who'd showed us around had let us know that the onsen was technically open an hour later than posted, meaning we could try it out following the tour of Okunoin. (Eko-in seemed a lot more flexible with curfews and times than many of the other monasteries. Some people might be put off by the concessions to the tourists, but we really appreciated them.) I decided to brave the onsen.

There were a couple of Japanese ladies who quickly cleared out when I arrived and started putting my clothes in my basket, lol, so I had the onsen mostly to myself. I'd read enough to know you shower first and then get into the pool. While it wasn't a natural spring on the side of a hill, the hot water felt amazing after a long day. After soaking for a bit, I wrapped myself up in yukata and headed back to the room. While I changed into my pajamas in our room, Monica took a turn.

We woke up early and got dressed for the 6:30 prayer service. We padded into the sanctuary in our bare feet and sat cross-legged while two monks chanted and offered up prayers to the ancestors. Then they had us walk through and bow to the Buddha statues to show reverence. You know those travel moments where things feel so foreign, and yet reach out to you with such familiarity at the same time? This was one of those moments for me. Next, we walked next door for the fire service, where strips of wood inscribed with wishes for dead ancestors were burned. Pretty cool.

This is a good time to note - aside from pop culture, I don't have much experience with Buddhism. Monica, however, knows a bit more about it as her mom is from Sri Lanka and grew up both Buddhist and Jehovah's Witness. Even though the services were in Japanese, the meditative sense of ritual was peaceful and translated beautifully, no words required. (Though a brief explanation was given in English at both services.)

At check-out, we requested shuin for both services (and almost forgot to give our offering, oops). After spending some time walking around town, we picked up our bags and waited 20 minutes for the bus. It took us to the incline, where we waited in the nice terminal, grabbing a 'Mets' litchi-flavored drinks. So good. The train arrived, and we started the long trip back to Osaka.

Note: As of this posting, the last part of the train tracks to Koya-san have been wiped out by a typhoon. You can still reach Koya-san and Eko-in by bus, until the tracks are replaced. Knowing Japan, it shouldn't take long.