Mount Koya Private Tours

Adeline K.

5 / 5

Nov 2, 2024

One Day in Mount Koya. Feel the Sacredness and Holiness

Mount Koya

7 hours

Nov 2, 2024

“Visiting Koyasan During a Rainstorm ”

Hiroyuki has very deep knowledge of Buddhism and history of Koyasan. Aware of an approaching extratropical cyclone he briefed me on the site locations in advance everytime he had an opportunity. When the rainstorm hit we could only do one stop of the Danjo Garan which consisted of a complex of temples. However, I was very satisfied with my tour and visit to Koyasan as I felt that Hiro had done a great job explaining the temple complex clearly and didn't feel I had missed out much.

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Hiroyuki T.

(144 reviews)

It was unfortunate that heavy rain hit that area when we were there. It's rare to have heavy rain in November. I am sorry about it. Next time, let's visit Nachi waterfall together and walk World Heritage Pilgrimage route Kumano Kodo. Take care and enjoy your tour in Japan It just started. Hiro

“Great day on Mount Koya with Hiro-San”

Hiro-San is a former government employee who worked on cultural site preservation. He was born and lives 15 minutes away from Mount Koya and is very knowledgeable about the area and its religious practices (his family has their own temple / shrine). We learned about the religious history of Japan, with its unusual syncretism between Shintoism and Buddhism (plus Hindu deities), about the life and beliefs of Kukai, a monk who imported esoteric Buddhism to Japan (Shingon Buddhism) after having learned its secrets and been ordained in China, and about the interactions and occasional rivalries between political and religious powers in the history of Japan. The visit included several temple compexes—with Buddha statues, gardens and centuries old works of art—as well as the Okuno-In cemetary, the largest in Japan, with monuments for shogun families, warlords, and Kukai himself, and a more modern section for business founders, artists, etc. Hiro-San took us to a local restaurant for lunch (suited for our kids who were starving for non-tofu based food after sleeping one night in a local temple), and very kindly called and booked a van for our return trip to Osaka the next day. Definitely recommend if you plan to visit Mount Koya.

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Hiroyuki T.

(144 reviews)

It was really nice spending time with you and your family in Koyasan. Koyasan is a special place to me. I used to work for the Koyasan UNESCO world heritage project some 20 years ago. It was a difficult job but a meaningful one. It's a great pleasure for me that I can share what I learned from this job with another people as a guide. Take care of yourself and have a safe trip Hiro

“Koyasan tour”

Miyuki-san is a friendly person who guided me in Koyasan. There is a lot to see in Koyasan and it is a bit of journey to get there. Without a good guide, it is not easy to know where to go, to decide what to see, or to understand the significance and details of the various temples and sights there. Miyuki is very knowledgeable about Koyasan and she clearly loves the area. She was very organized, with train and bus schedules always on hand so that we could keep moving without wasting time. She guided me on the train to Koyasan, and when we got there, we covered a lot of sights over several hours. Miyuki gave detailed explanations about each place. She also had booked a good restaurant ahead of time where we had lunch, and she showed me some of the best shops in Koyasan for wagashi and souvenirs. In addition, she gave me suggestions on what I could go see myself on the following day. One minor issue I had is that I sometimes had to ask her the same question several times over before she answered; I think it was maybe because she was so absorbed with taking in the sights and thinking about where to take me next. If you communicate clearly and ensure you are understood, this should not be a problem. Aside from this minor issue, I do definitely recommend her as a guide if you would like to make the most of your trip to Koyasan. I could not have had as good of an experience as I did at Koyasan without her. Thank-you, Miyuki-san!

Miyuki O.

(3 reviews)

Thank you for your wonderful and heartfelt comment. It will be helpful for me to continue to hone my career as a guide in Koyasan. It seemed that you were jet-lagged and tired, but I think you were healed by the clean air and scenery of Koyasan, away from the hustle and bustle of the city. Many people enjoy the atmosphere of Koyasan and then go back, but I think you can fully enjoy its charm by staying at a temple lodging and listening to the guide's explanations while touring the famous sites of Koyasan. As you pointed out, my weakness is that when a question is suddenly asked that is unrelated to the flow of the conversation, I can hear it as audio but I can't keep up with it. This happens often in Japanese too. I lost my husband and my children have become independent, so I live alone now and don't have many opportunities to communicate with people. I really enjoyed myself when I was able to show around an intelligent and wonderful woman like you.