Koyasan

**Booking a temple:** Reserve 1-2 months out through Koyasan Tourism Association's English site. Eko-in (¥11,000) is the biggest and easiest for first-timers; Henjoson-in (¥13,000) is smaller and quieter; Hongaku-in (¥12,000) has the best food. Check-in is 15:00-17:00 (arrive by 17:00 or they'll give your room away). Dinner at 18:00 is shojin ryori served in your room or a communal hall—eight dishes, all vegetarian, meticulously arranged. Morning prayer starts at 6:00 (you don't have to go, but you should); breakfast at 7:30; check-out by 10:00. It's a monastery schedule, not a hotel. **Okunoin at night:** The cemetery path stays open 24/7. After dark (19:00 onward) the stone lanterns light up and you walk 2 kilometers through 200,000 graves to Torodo Hall where 10,000 donated lanterns burn continuously. Bring a flashlight if you want to explore the side paths where older tombs hide in the moss. Monks bring rice to Kukai's mausoleum at midnight and 6am—if you're there (respectful distance, no photos), you'll see a ritual that's been performed twice a day for 1,200 years. The cemetery also has a termite monument (pest control companies honoring the insects they kill, very Buddhist) and memorials for aborted fetuses. It's strange and moving. **Winter, fewer people:** January-February drops the tourist count by 70% and covers everything in snow. Temples don't heat much (bring layers; your breath will fog indoors), but morning prayer in a frozen temple with snow visible through the shoji screens is worth the cold. Some temples offer hot yuzu baths after evening walks—citrus-infused water, very traditional. Snow on cedars in Okunoin is as beautiful as it gets.