Trip to Japan: Day 9

After an elegant breakfast at the three month old Marriott Nanki Shirahama, we were on our way to Mt. Koya, known to the Japanese as Koyasan.

On the way to Koyasan, we first stopped at the Nakata Ume Factory in the Wakayama Prefecture. The following is from the Japan Products website:

"Ume is distributed widely in East Asia but its place of origin is in north central China. There are 2000 year old records of the medicinal use of ume. Most of the time ume is translated as Japanese plum and is often marketed as such, but it is really a species of apricot.

1500 years ago ume made its way into Japan in the form of a medicine called Woomei. At the same time Woomei was introduced, trees were also imported. Over time these trees adapted to the Japanese climate and growing conditions to create new species. Japanese ume are sourer and contain higher levels of citric acid than their Chinese counterparts." 

Art and I grew up eating ume with our rice. It was considered almost  medicinal. When we were sick our parents often gave us rice gruel with an ume in it. At the Nakata Factory, we were introduced to ume pickled with different amounts of honey, salt and I don't know what else that would make it either sweeter or more salty. We bought several boxes because we knew people in Hawaii would love it. We also bought ume wine that we knew Mom would LOVE!

Our next stop brought us to the Binchotan Charcoal Factory. They explained how oak trees are grown, harvested and burned in a kiln to make a high quality charcoal. Charcoal can be put into pillows to absorb ordor and used to filter impurities from water. It can also be put into the refrigerator to absorb odors. We were told that the Binchotan charcoal could be washed and reused every six months. Art bought some for his shoes.

Art, who used to work for the EPA was quite concerned for the people who worked there and breathed in the polluted smoked filled air.

After picking up lunch at a supermarket and eating it on the bus, we were on our way to Koyasan. Our bus driver stopped along the way to let us take in the golden and crimson fall colors.

Koyasan is a famous historical cemetery that contains over 200,000 graves and monuments. It was established as a World Heritage Site in 2004. As we walked among the cedar trees, it brought back happy, nostalgic memories of walking the same path with Mom and Auntie Grace in 2010 who made it their goal to teach us as much Japanese history as our brains could possibly hold.

Koyasan was opened in 816 when Kobodaishi Kukai established a Shingon sect of Esoteric Buddhism on the mountain. It is the only holy land in Japan that is located on a mountaintop.

When we arrived at the Sekishouin Temple it was evening and cold.

Our rooms were not luxurious and it was cold but the view outside our window was gorgeous.

Dinner was a Buddhist vegetarian meal. It was delicious and very healthy.

At 6:30 several of us gathered for a night-time walk to see various shrines, temples and pagodas close to the Sekishouin Temple guest house.

The walk warmed us up a bit which was a good thing and we all slept well that night.