Wakayama in One Day: Move: Walk to Kongobuji Temple — Guide Nori

What's a Private Walking Tour of Koyasan Like? A Licensed Guide's Report

The guests on this occasion were an older group who had arrived in Japan about a month earlier from North America and were traveling all over the country, from Hokkaido to the Kanto, Kinki, and Chugoku regions. From the very beginning, their wish was to "explore Koyasan thoroughly," so the itinerary was clear from an early stage. Essentially, we decided to cover "Daimon Gate → Danjo Garan → Kongobuji Temple → Okunoin" as a six-hour course.

On the day, it was a brilliantly clear sky with dry air, making it a very refreshing "walking tour day" in the shade. However, the sunlight grew stronger as the hours passed, and even though Koyasan sits at nearly 1,000 meters in elevation, the outside temperature rose to 27 degrees. That said, the Koyasan tour mostly involves walking through woods and forests, so we did not suffer much from direct sunlight.

I arrived at the temple lodging (Rengejoin) about 15 minutes early and was able to meet the guests as scheduled at 9:30. We did a brief self-introduction and reviewed the itinerary, but there was one issue: the starting-point temple lodging was located slightly off the planned "route," right in the middle of the usual sequence (Daimon Gate – Danjo Garan – Kongobuji Temple – Okunoin), so starting from "Daimon Gate" would have caused a considerable loss of time. After discussing it with the guests, we decided to first visit the nearby sites (Kongobuji Temple – Danjo Garan), then move by taxi or bus to the entrance of "Okunoin," visit the "Okunoin Mausoleum," take a lunch and rest break, and finally visit "Daimon Gate."

Having already spent nearly a month touring various parts of Japan, the guests had a considerable knowledge of Japanese history, culture, and religion. I felt this served as the foundation for their quick understanding of my explanations at each place we visited. Explaining the worldview and philosophy of Kobo Daishi (Kukai)'s "Shingon Buddhism" at Koyasan is particularly challenging, but they seemed to grasp the general outline. Beyond the religious content, the guests were moved by the wonderful nature of Koyasan. They also enjoyed the "udon set meal" they had for lunch, and seemed very fond of it, saying "Japanese soup is very delicious" and "Japanese food is healthy."

With their strong curiosity, solid education, and pleasant sense of humor, the guests made it a fun tour where we could fully enjoy the lush greenery of Koyasan.

Click here for more details: Mt. Koya Sacred Sites in 1 Day Tour with Licensed Guide

Tour Report by Nori

Hi, everyone! I’m Norifumi Kamon, a government registered guide interpreter. Please call me “Nori”, or “Kamon-san”.
Let me introdece myself. I was born on April 17th in 1952 in Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu island. I used to be an English teacher of Osaka Prefectural high school. When I retired from a teacher ten years ago, I decided to get a professional guide license. I wanted to play a role of the bridge between Japanese people and the people from all over the world as a second life of mine. After two years efforts, I finally got the guide license. Since then, I have guided several handreds of foreign people mainly in Kyoto and Nara for about five years except Corona Pandemic period. Almost all the tourists were deeply impressed by the beauty of nature, traditoin, culture, and art of Japan. I can surely help you enjoy and be satisfied with the sightseeing in Japan. And I’m looking forward to seeing you soon.