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It's was about ten years ago when we got the idea of how we could live the Buddhist life. We decided to go to Koyasan (Mount Koya), Japan, which is one of the best places to experience an overnight stay and get a taste of what it must be like to be a monk. There are many temples here that offer this service to both pilgrims and visitors. Yes, we did that for a couple of nights. One of the great parts of this trip was eating vegetarian monk's cuisine. I have to say that the tofu at the Okunoin temple was delicious. The tofu is silky and naturally sweet and the recipe is thousands of years old. You also have to participate in morning prayers which start at 6:00 am. This means you have to wake up around 5:00 am. It was not easy for me because it was winter time and it's extremely cold. There's no central heating in the building. Prayer last for about 45 minutes and is followed by breakfast around 7:00am. Lunch, dinner, tea time, bath, and bed time are also according to strict schedules. During our stay we also viewed the temple's cultural treasures, hall and garden. A temple typically offers private, traditional rooms with tatami floors, sliding doors, and shared toilets and sink. Bedding is provided in the form of futons that are spread on tatami floors during the night. As I say, it has no central heating in the building. Therefore, during winter nights, a heated table is set in the middle of the futons bedding to provide warmth.
My husband was ready for breakfast.
Me, 10 years ago.
Morning view from our room.
Slightly snowy on the bridge. Okunoin is one of the most sacred places in Japan and a popular pilgrimage spot.
Across the bridge starts Okunoin's cemetery, the largest in Japan, with over 200,000 tombstones lining almost two kilometers.
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