Feeling worn, tired and still sore we needed to be present for morning ceremony with the monks. This is truly an unique experience. Followed by another truly unique experience.. Breakfast, monk style!
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| Unfortunately it looks better than it tastes.. =/ |
Koyasan
Truth be told, I am a very picky eater and the breakfast wasn't my cup of tea. Which is ironic, because the tea was the best cup I've had this far on our trip through Japan. Especially since the dinner (of which I forgot to take a picture) was great! Well.. You win some.. Anyways we packed up and took another look around the town of Koyasan!
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| Koyakun loved to pose with Kodama |
Koyasan is a town up in the mountains filled with temples and monks. Today we walked to the Daimon gate, the entrance way used by regular traffic and monks on pilgrimage and we visited the different temples and shrines along the way. This led us past some beautiful artifacts and other nice objects surrounding the Buddhist faith. But time grew short so we hopped back on the cablecart and on our way to Osaka.
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| The Daimon gate, protecting Koyasan |
Osaka
Our hotel actually lies on the outskirts of Osaka, but we arrived there early enough to have time to spare. With this time we went to the center of town in order to reach famous Osaka castle. This castle is a touristic hotspot, and the line to get in was quite big, but we tempted faith and even took the stairs to the top (8th floor) instead of the elevator everyone was waiting for. The castle, actually a completely modern museum on the inside, houses some great stories, artifacts and paintings from the fuedal time, as well as the complete history of the original castle's owners and is thus well worth the visit!
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| An 'old' bastion amidst a living city |
Around Osaka Castle lies Osaka Castle park. A place where its inhabitants like to gather and celebrate, especially in this period when the cherry blossoms are in full bloom. The entire park was filled with people. Friends and families coming together to talk and have a meal, some drinks,... All while sitting on tarp under a tree. The sight was wonderful and we enjoyed a fresh ice cream while walking back to the train station after our visit.
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| Why don't we celebrate like this..? |
Having finally checked in to our hotel, we found ourselves in the town of Amagasaki. Well, at this moment we've found the shopping street and the Coco Ichi (I'm up to spice level 2 ;-)) but not much more is known for now. So we've started planning our next steps in Osaka!
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| Fancy stamp from the castle |
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