Mount Kōya

Kūkai, founder of Shingon Buddhism, chose this plateau ringed by eight peaks, a layout that suggested a lotus to him. His disciples hold that he did not die in 835 but entered deep meditation: twice a day monks still carry him a meal at the Okunoin mausoleum. The cemetery leading there, two kilometres under giant cryptomeria, lines up two hundred thousand graves, warlords and modern corporations side by side. Some fifty temples offer shukubō, an overnight stay with vegetarian meals and morning service.