Farewell Koyasan

We rose at 5.30 to attend morning prayers with the monks at our in-house temple. Seated on low stools we listened as the head monk , beautifully gowned in black and gold and his assistant, also dressed in elegant robes but black and white, recited the Sutras accompanied by occasional cymbal flurries and drum strikes. This went on for an hour and we all sat very still.  We were then invited to approach a low table, bow to the Buddha and sprinkle incense three times - once for the Buddha, then for our ancestors and the third for world peace - going to need a lot of sprinkling for that one! We then were invited into the temple to bow to five different Buddhas and view the containers of departed spirits which lined the walls of the temple.  Finally the head monk departed and his assistant then gave a verrrry long explanation of Buddhism - every living thing has a life and we must respect all!

We then checked out had a final coffee and cake at a little, warm coffee shop before catching the bus and connecting trains to Nara where we have checked into our hotel which is great.

A few notes:

. toilet seats are heated
. Different slippers are provided for different purposes - one pair for corridors, change to toilet shoes, change to washroom slippers, off althogether in rooms


A view of the cemetery

View through a bamboo forest.

Tomorrow we do our next hike with a local volunteer - 21 kilometres!

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