Take part in a moving dawn prayer ceremony in Koyasan Temple
If you have a great chance to stay overnight in a Koyasan’s Buddhist temple lodging (known as shukubo), it is a must that you should not miss out the Morning Prayer to complete your special spiritual experience in Japan. The morning prayer service starts at 6:00am in the main prayer hall. As guests of the temple, you are also invited to participate in and it is important to be punctual at a sacred place of worship. The monk begins the morning Shingon Buddhism chant called sho-myo that are all in Japanese but at the end of the prayer, some monks may provide a simple English explanation. The service lasts about an hour, giving tourist prayers a glimpse into the spiritual world of Buddhist monks. After the morning prayer, you can enjoy a shojin ryori breakfast (purely vegetarian food) in the temple’s dining room and then continue to explore the site.
