Many pictures, little writing. It was fairly easy to get up to Koya from Osaka, but, as often happens in travel, you end up having to figure out what you’re doing in the midst of doing it. I ended up paying to reserve a seat on a train before actually buying a ticket to get on the train in the first place. I got it correct the second time, but it didn’t help that there’s a line starting to form behind me at the ticket kiosk.
I took the train and then a cable car up to Koya and got there a little after 10:00 a.m. I found a visitor center and was informed that the last stamp for my scroll could be gotten at the offices just before the temple and mausoleum for Kobo Daishi far back in Koya’s cemetery.
I decided to get some breakfast first at the Family Mart and then walk over to get a picture of the Daimon (“Great Gate”) at the entrance to Koya. I took a few pictures and was about to head to the cemetery where Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum is located when I heard a voice call out to me. It was Vincent whom we’d walked with back at Temple 65. We’ve been in communication on and off since then and I knew he planned to be at Koya today, so it wasn’t a huge surprise.
We agreed to accompany each other today and basically spent the day exploring the cemetery today. No photography is allowed back at the stamp office, temple and mausoleum, so below are mainly pictures from the cemetery. It’s 1,200 years old and contains over 200,000 graves. A number of historical individuals are buried here.
After receiving my final stamp from the stamp office, I felt a bit numb and a bit happy-sad. The end of a long journey. Happy for it to be over, but sad as well. There was nothing left for me to do but to go back to the local post office and mail my completed hanging scroll back to be mounted.
Vincent and I explored the city a little more, but it was starting to rain and, honestly, I would like to come back and give the place the attention it deserves without the distraction of sore feet. I think I’ll need a few weeks of being kind to my feet when I get home.
2023 Shikoku Henro 