Getting to Mt Koyo from Nara took a taxi, two different trains, a cable car, and a bus. Mt Koyo itself is kind of like Arlington National Cemetery and Westminster Abbey rolled into one, a bit more user-friendly than either—there’s real popular connection to the cemetaries and temples in the park here—and bordered by a resort town. People come to this place on pilgrimage, but it is also kind of a place to play.

I am staying in a temple guesthouse for pilgrims. In many ways it is very nice. This kind of place is called a Shukubu. Combining things that are more in my normal experience in order to describe it, it is part youth hostel and part resort hotel, with everyone sleeping on the floor in rooms divided by paper screen partitions, guided meditations morning and night, and pretty gardens.

A cold rain has been falling for most of the day, and the trick has been to stay warm and dry. Paper walls do not make for great insulation! If you are interested, this Shukubu heats with kerosene (yes, it smells bad), and also with a secret electric heater under the low table for one’s feet. I hope the rain stops by tomorrow when I will be walking on the Kumano kodo trail!