5-13
;)
Starting day two we woke up and had breakfast at 6:30. The breakfast was very good with a mix of Western and Asian cuisine. Then it was train time to Kyoto. We rode over 100 miles by train, and boy was that an experience.
Train number one: packed and stuffed to the brim. We had to stand the whole 30 minutes to the next. On it there were the little school children riding the train to school. It was very adorable to see them in their uniforms, chatting away and doing the homework they forgot to finish the night before.
;)
;)
The next train was much quieter and emptier this was a pleasant ride full of scenic photographing of the mountains and towns whizzing by. The last train up the mountain to Koyasan was a beautiful one. The deep valleys and lush landscapes were only made even more interesting by the old man that offered his help in pointing out particular interesting objects. He was quite the gentleman, and knew English fairly well!
;)
;)
After the train up to the last mountain stop, we then had to take a cable car to the Fukishi-in monastery.Arriving at the monastery we were greeted with a handwritten sigh that said University of Tennessee (and probably "welcome" was written in the top in hiragana). It was a wonderful gesture for none of us had expected to have been received with such grace.
;)
We then dropped off our luggage then meandered the streets of Koyasan looking for some food. David suggested a restaurant which was very good. Soon after we finished lunch we decided to go visit the cemetery of the monks. This is no typical cemetery, it is an elaborate burial ground in which offerings are placed at the base of graves and incense is burned. There were many amazing and beautiful statues and monuments along the walkway. Once thru the cemetery we arrived to the tourist-y part of the walk. There we washed our hands in the fountains and got our books stamped with the temple's logo. Continuing on, we had a quick tour of the main Buddhist temple. This was a magnificent temple, of which no photos were allowed (but I'm sure there were some taken). Inside one of the monks was chanting what seemed to be an ancient hymn.
;)
;)
After finishing the cemetery walk we arrived to the monastery in which we were staying the night, Fukishi-in. We were all glad to finally be able to take off our shoes at the door, and sit down for a while. at 18:00 we had dinner…. OH DINNER.
This dinner was an onslaught to taste buds. While everything was vegetarian, just as the monks eat, it was all strange, and delightful…(while some were not so delightful). There was vegetable tempura,
four kinds of tofu and just a myriad of textures and tastes that no one had experienced before. Everyone agreed, that while not actually being full, the combination of all the new flavors filled our stomachs in another way that prevented us from stuffing our faces.
By now it had become dark, and David encouraged us to use the Onsen. This is a public bath where you enter your room of gender, strip down necked, shower, and then sit in a bath with others. It sounds strange, but the experience is wonderful. Especially after a long day of traveling and walking, the hot waters soothed our feet and our souls.