Koyasan
A temple town on a forested mountain plateau south of Osaka, home to Kongobu-ji, head temple of Shingon Buddhism. Pilgrims stay overnight in temple lodgings, and the Okunoin cemetery leads through giant cedars to the mausoleum of Kukai, the founder.
- Where
- Koya, Wakayama, Japan
- Grade
- UNESCO heritage
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site, plus 8 for its grade
- Coordinates
- 34.2178, 135.5833
Get the Koyasan stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Koyasan. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Wakayama volume with your photos and a note.
Near Koyasan
Mount Yoshino 31 km
A mountain ridge in central Nara Prefecture, about eight kilometres long and dotted with shrines and temples around Kinpusen-ji. For centuries it has been the most celebrated cherry blossom spot in Japan, with tens of thousands of trees flowering in stages up the slopes.
Daisen Kofun 39 km
The largest of the Mozu tombs in Sakai, a keyhole-shaped burial mound ringed by moats and attributed to Emperor Nintoku. It is so large that its shape is best grasped from the observation floor of Sakai City Hall nearby; the wooded mound itself is closed to visitors.
Sumiyoshi Taisha 45 km
The head shrine of all the Sumiyoshi shrines across Japan, in the south of Osaka. Its main halls give their name to the Sumiyoshi-zukuri style of shrine building, and a steeply arched red bridge, the Sorihashi, crosses the pond at the entrance.
Horyu-ji 46 km
Built in Ikaruga shortly after Buddhism reached Japan, this temple has some of the oldest wooden buildings in the world. Its full name means Learning Temple of the Flourishing Law, and it served as both seminary and monastery.
Tsutenkaku 49 km
A 108-metre steel tower rising over the old Shinsekai district of Osaka, with its main observation deck at 91 metres. Up top sits Billiken, a smiling good-luck figure whose feet visitors rub for fortune, and the streets below are full of kushikatsu bars.
Shitenno-ji 49 km
Founded in 593 by Prince Shotoku, this Osaka temple is often called the first Buddhist and oldest officially administered temple in Japan. Its buildings have been rebuilt many times, last in 1963, keeping the old straight-line layout of gate, five-storey pagoda and main hall.
Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan 51 km
An aquarium by Osaka Bay that was the largest public aquarium in the world when it opened in 1990. Visitors spiral down around a huge central tank representing the Pacific Ocean, home to a whale shark, past smaller tanks for the seas of the Pacific Rim.
Dotonbori 51 km
Osaka's great nightlife strip, running along a canal through Namba and once the city's theatre district. Giant illuminated signs, the Glico running man among them, hang over the street, along with mechanical crabs and dragons above stalls selling takoyaki.
More UNESCO World Heritage sites in Wakayama
Questions
Where is Koyasan?
Koyasan is in Koya, Wakayama, Japan. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Mount Yoshino (31 km), Daisen Kofun (39 km), Sumiyoshi Taisha (45 km).
How do I get the Koyasan stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Koyasan and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Wakayama volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Koyasan before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Wakayama volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.