Mount Koya

This morning we joined in with the daily ceremony of prayers, it was an incredible honour to be allowed a glimpse into this fascinating world. After a hearty breakfast of rice and miso soup, we headed out into the very very very cold and walked along the village to the Daimon gates.



The Massive Daimon Gates, Entrance to Koyasan for pilgrims for hundreds of years.

Polluting the atmosphere with greenhouse gas is just not cool! Personal fav.

After some more exploring, we sheltered in our room with the heater for a while to regather strength. I went out in the afternoon to the Grand Shrines on the Eastern side of Koyasan. Its a few kilometer walk through ancient cedar forests with thousands of tombs along the way. Incredibly peaceful and serine in the big old forest.

Pilgrims from across Japan come here to pay their respects to the Gods and to loved ones. Here they are splashing water onto the different Gods.

Japan has been an incredible experience, a beautiful country which has been so exciting to explore. More than just friendly, efficient and clean, there is a certain magic to this country that lies somewhere between the fast paced cities and the ancient temples.

Nara – Citadel of Peace

We explored this ancient city (Japan’s first capital) which has some amazing temples and buildings. Nara Park has over 1000 tame deer roaming around, which are very friendly (until you have food). The deer are considered to be the messengers of the Gods. The Todai-ji Temple is a massive complex, and home to the massive Buddha (Great Buddha Valorcana) – 16m high. We made our way through the park to the Kasuga Grand Shrine, a famous Shinto site. Most impressive were the over 3000 lanterns inside and around the shrine.

Todai-ji Temple

The giant Buddha

A few of the many, many lanterns

Barrels of Sake, I think.

Inside the front entrance to the Kasuga Grand Shrine

Karl & the deer.

Mount Koya

After Nara, we headed by train to Koyasan high in the mountains in the heart of the Kii Peninsula. The train kept climbing and houses started disappearing as the cedar forests grew thicker. We finally reached the end of the railway and took a cable car up the mountain. At the top, with sprinklings of snow everywhere, we entered the village of Koyasan which is a one stop mecca for pilgrims who make their way to this sacred Shingon-Buddhist site. Today there are 123 temples on the mountain, though there was over a thousand at one stage (mostly destroyed by typhoons and fire). We found the temple where we are staying, Sekishoin, and were helped by a monk to our beautiful room which overlooks the gardens. In the afternoon we wandered through the town and tried to guess what sub-zero temperature it might be. Really enjoyed the heater under the table when we got back!

The Temple where we are staying, just unbelievable.

Iga-Ueno, home of the Ninja

We made our way to Nara via the castle town of Iga-Ueno, infamous as home of the Ninja. Here we visited the Iga Ninja Museum which is an old farmhouse that was converted into the secret headquarters of the Iga sect Ninjas. The house is full of uber-cool trapdoors, swinging panels, spy holes and secret rooms. Very cool. The tour guides also wear bright pink Ninja outfits. Even cooler!

The Original Secret Headquarters of the Iga Sect Ninjas

Bathrooms, Ninja Style

The Golden Pavilion & Nijo Castle

After getting somewhat displaced on the bus system, we met up with Catherine and Jessica at Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion) and true to its name, it is indeed a very golden pavilion! Quite impressive, as were the extensive gardens.

The most unbelievable range of sweets and gifts

We also made a stop at Nijo Castle which is a huge complex of historic buildings. Really amazing were the ‘Nightingale Floors’ which were wooden floors that squeaked like Nightingales singing when you walk on them (to warn the Shogun Lord of intruders)!

Catherine, Jessica & Karl at the entrance to Nijo Castle

Women in traditional dress is as normal as modern clothing in Kyoto

The gardens at Nijo Castle

Meet up with some more friends, we had an amazing dinner at an organic restaurant where we were served 18 dishes, all of which were divine – from pickled seaweed to tofu and red bean pate. Totally different and totally delicious.

Kiyamizu-dera Temple

We joined up with friends of mine from the Summit to go back to Gion District to the Kiyamizu-dera Temple. The streets that wind their way up to the temple on the mountain side are lined with shops selling every imaginable curio and craft - far too good for any of us to resist and we spent the afternoon on the way up exploring all kinds of things. We tried all types of delicacies, all of which I had never seen before in my life. From Green Tea Ice Cream to Soy Milk donuts to Red bean paste sweets, it was a real tasty adventure! Karl got himself a beautiful Katana sword and was happy for the rest of the day.

Catherine, Sunny and I below one of the entrance gates to Kiyamizu-dera temple

One of the temples through the forests

Fresh - and ice cold - mountain spring water to wash your hands before entering the temple.

The temple at the top was well worth the walk and has breathtaking views of Kyoto. The entire structure is made of wood without using a single nail.

Not a single nail!

Here you can buy a thousand different types of blessings, charms or prayers. There was even a waterfall where you can drink the purest of waters straight from the mountains.

After all the exploring, we camped out in a welcomingly warm tea house until the sun went down and the lanterns went on. At the moment there is a festival of lights on in the evenings during which the temples and streets are all lit up. It was just breathtakingly beautiful and worth every freezing moment!

Beautiful Kyoto City

Arrived in a very cold Kyoto City yesterday from Tokyo by Shikansen - bullet train - which was a very speedy experience to say the least! Took a little bit of a breather yesterday evening with some great sushi and good music.

This morning we headed to Northern Kyoto where we strolled along the famous Philosopher's Path along the old canal which joins several temples and gardens. The beautiful gardens are incredibly tranquil and the temples are simply magnificent. The route got its name from the students and professors who would take this route to the University and take the time for contemplation. Kyoto is a fascinating city, bound by mountains on three sides, and packed with historical wanders in between. Also bloody freezing, snowed again today and I think losing the feeling in my extremities was the easiest - the getting there was the painful part! Otherwise, just gorgeous.

Niigata City

Took a trip out with some good friends from Switzerland last year who were at the Summit as well with Yu, who lives in Tokyo, as our guide to Niigata City on the west coast of Japan. We passed through a mountain range to the west coast which is covered in beautiful white snow! It was really amazing travelling into a part of Japan which is still incredibly traditional and quite isolated. Up in the mountains it was really really cold though! We went to a festival in the small village above Niigata City where Yu`s girlfriend Amity was dancing, which was beautiful to watch. We laughed our way all the four hours there and the four hours back, much to the thanks of Pepe and Hessam!













In a snow dome with Karl, Pepe and Yu.

















Some of the dancing at the festival!

Student Summit for Sustainability

Attended the Student Summit for Sustainability for the past week, which was held in Itako City just outside of Tokyo. Had the most incredible time learning a lot, meeting some incredible people and getting to catch up with friends from last year as well. It was really an amazing experience and tons of fun. Had a great field trip out to Lake Itako and got an insight into the fishing communities and rice paddies of the area. Everyone really enjoyed the Amarula which I brought with, and it seemed to go down incredibly well with all the Sake and Tequila!

More sightseeing ...

Today we took the river cruise boat down Sumida river to Tokyo Central, got a little lost in this very big city but found our way to the Hama-rikyu gardens, quite awesome to have such tranquil place in the middle of Tokyo and there were the first of the blossoms out (see photos).

Strolled through the city, some fantastic architecture, and took a trip to the Ameyoko market, one of the largest in Asia, that sells everything from clothes to food. Lots of fresh fish, food I have never seen before and a lot of nori (seaweed)! Very cool experience. Had the welcome for the conference this evening, looks to be an exciting week.

Karl & his All-Stars