A 23 km mountain hike

Koyasan is known for its historical monuments, Buddhist temples, and a vast number of mausoleums. Located in Wakayama prefecture (132 km from our place) on a hill top, the present day Koyasan is a popular tourist attraction. The small town is designed to evoke memories of the past Buddhist rituals. Koyasan doesn't have a train station, and is accessible by road and cable car. A night stay in the ryokans that offer Buddhist style pure veg food is what most visitors from abroad would like to try. Starting from the Daimon (Main Gate), as you walk along the streets you see building that could date back to several hundred years ago. Rituals conducted by Buddhist monks are still popular here. The Art of Living Japan representative Neela Srinidhi conducts residential courses in Koyasan ryokans. Certainly, Koyasan takes you to a 'Zen' type atmosphere (if you close your eyes to the unavoidable commercialization that becomes part of any tourist spot).

Koyasan caught my attention for its hiking trails. There are 7 or 8 courses popular among hikers -each hike taking 2-4 hrs and spanning 4-6 km. I chose the tough course -23.5 km long trail which would take 7 hrs as noted in Koyasan tourist association homepage. Known as "Koyasan Choishi Michi" this trail was registered in the UNESCO World Heritage list (similar to the Kumano Kodo trail -the one we did in 2008 Dec). Walking up the mountains 23.5 km was something new to me....I just wanted to give it a try.

Information received from Kudoyama town - the location of Jison-in temple where the Koyasan Choishi Michi starts- was very useful. Leaving the car in the Parking lot, I dressed up for hiking and walked towards Jison-in. In front of homes I found baskets of 'kaki' (persimmon) fruits kept for retails sale -but there was none to receive cash. Looking at the price tag, customers put the exact cash in the small box, and walk away with the fruits taking them in the carry-bag provided. I've seen similar scenes in Kumano Kodo as well. Unmanned shops!

As I walked up the steep stairs of Jison-in temple (8:20 am), I saw the first 'cho ishi' -the stone marker, which is actually the 180th stone marker. The trail got its name because of the 180 'cho-ishi's located throughout the trail, each at a span of 109m. Each cho-ishi is a 1ft x 1ft base & 1.5 m high stone pillar -was the 'milestone' in those days (and even now). I needed to walk up to cho-ishi 1, to reach Koyasan.

The trail wasn't as wide as Kumano Kodo's, which I realized in the first few minutes. In the first 30 minutes, the kaki tress standing at both sides of the trail provided a nice shadow; and the kaki fruits seen in abundance explained the 'unmanned' fruit stalls I saw down the mountains. I would not have carried the two kakis that I had carried in my back-bag, had I known about this. The trail was of 1-2 ft wide for the most part, and it was quite steep at several points. After an hour or so, there were tall pine trees at both the sides (again reminding me of Kumano Kodo); thanks to them, there was no sunshine.

Fearing that I may not be able to complete the train in 7 hrs as noted in the pamphlet, I started walking in a good speed right from the beginning. Met a couple of Japanese ladies at 10 am in a resting place, who said they started at 7 am. As I took less than 2 hrs to cover the distance they hiked in 3 hrs, I was confident I could make it in time. I continued to walk fast, taking a look at the cho-ishis and trying to look at the number written on them. Perhaps as it was kanji of olden days, I couldn't get what the numbers meant in some cases.


As I approached 60th stone marker, I could hear the traffic sound coming from the nearby mountain road. At 12 noon I could reach the 60th stone marker -covering 2/3 of the distance. At this point, the trail crossed the public road; and there was a restaurant and some vending machines (along the 23.5 km, this was the only place where vending machines and restrooms were there). Many hikers were having their lunch there, some cooking in the portable stove they carried. I had a banana and was all set to move.... for some reasons I never feel hungry when hiking. I sat for a while, feeling relieved that 2/3 of the hike was over! I had walked past many Japanese hikers that I saw, and nobody ever overtook me, unlike the Takamikura and other hikes where I used to see a number of people pass by.

The distance between 60th stone marker till the 1st one was steep, or so I felt after 4 hours of continuous hike. Saw a couple of families, young couples and groups hiking as I moved up. And then came all of the sudden the sight of the crimson gate -the Daimon -which is the traditional entrance to Koyasan (which is at 6th stone marker).

I reached Daimon at 2 pm -an hour less than the published 7hrs it would normally take. Good!

Sat for a while, and started walking 1 km further... till I reached the bus stop and went to Koyasan station. Though not hungry, I went inside a restaurant to relax my legs. Took the cable car & train to reach Kudoyama. While in train, I realized I had sweating all over my body, and my clothes were fully drenched in sweating. (Those sitting next to me would have had a 'stinking' time!) Only after a relaxed bath in the onsen ("Yu-no-Sato in Hashimoto), sauna and steam bath, I felt fresh. Started driving at 8pm and reached Takasago at 10:30 pm.

It turned out to be quite a challenging day for my legs. Now I'm OK to do more day-long mountain hikes in the days to come!