Our government-licensed and experienced multilingual guides will help you efficiently enjoy a one-day tour of UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site, Mt. Koya. Go on a full-day guided walking tour of Mt. Koya and learn about the modern and traditional aspects of one of the world’s most sacred mountains!
If you would like to take some time out to enjoy some sights outside the big city, then this tour of Mount Koya is for you! Meet your guide at Koyasan station, your private guide will customize your full-day tour in detail according to your interests.
Highlights
Experience Mt. Koya Sacred Private Tour in 4 hours!
You can choose 2 to 3 sights you wish to visit from the list!
Guided by english speaking guide!
Duration
4 hours
Offered in
English
What is included
Licensed Local English Speaking Guide
Customizable Tour of your choice of 2-3 sites from 'What to expect' list
Meet up with guide on foot at Koyasan Station
What is not included
Transportation fees, Entrance fees, Lunch, and Other personal expenses
Private transportation
You cannot combine multiple tour groups.
Guide Entry fees are only covered for sights listed under What to Expect.
Experience the spiritual serenity of Mt. Koya on a 4-hour private tour, where you can select 2 to 3 sights from a curated list to explore at your own pace. This customizable tour offers the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself in the sacred atmosphere of the region, with options that blend history, nature, and culture. Whether you're seeking peaceful landscapes or meaningful cultural experiences, the tour can be tailored to your interests, providing a memorable and enriching journey.
You can choose 2-3 sites from the list below!
Koyasan Okunoin
Important Notice: The access to the Okunoin Torodo (Lantern Hall) will be suspended due to the restoration work from November 18th, 2024, to End of August 2025.
The heart of Mt. Koya. Kobo Daishi (Kukai), the founder of Shingon Buddhism and one of the most revered persons in the religious history of Japan, rests here. Also, many prominent personalities' graves line by the approach to Okunoin for several hundred meters through the forest. Your guide will explain interesting stories about those historical characters.
The main headquarters for the Shingon Sect, which has 4,000 temples throughout Japan and more than 10 million followers worldwide. Visitors can see religious artifact, fusuma sliding door paintings, as well as a beautiful rock garden representing two dragons flying amongst the clouds.
One of the two most sacred sites in Mt. Koya. In the 9th century, Mt. Koya was founded on this very ground. At that time, Kobo Daishi held a groundbreaking ceremony and then dedicated his life to the construction of Danjo Garan. This sacred area consists of nearly twenty different structures including the magnificent Konpon Daito. Your guide will tell you the meaning of these structures.
The Reihokan Museum (霊宝館, Reihōkan) was built to house and preserve the religious and cultural treasures of Koyasan. The museum's entrance hall is styled after Byodoin Temple in Uji, and it has three exhibition halls for both permanent and temporary exhibitions. The museum's collection consists of thousands of religious works of art. The permanent exhibition displays statues, mandala (paintings representing metaphysical maps of the cosmos), and various other religious tools and paintings, the most notable of which is the scroll depicting the "Reclining Image of Sakyamuni Buddha on His Last Day". Additionally, a rotating temporary exhibition displays a seasonal selection chosen from the museum's collection.
Daishi Kyokai (大師教会, Daishi Kyōkai) is the administrative center of Shingon Buddhism, and is responsible for spreading the teachings of Kobo Daishi, the sect's founder. The complex consists of two buildings: Henjoden, a traditional temple hall, that was built in 1915 and is dedicated to Kobo Daishi, and a modern building for administration, lectures and training. An English information desk is available in this building. Visitors can participate in a few activities at Daishi Kyokai, such as receiving Buddhist precepts (jukai) or copying Buddhist scriptures (shakyo). No advance reservations are required.
The Tokugawa Mausoleum (徳川家霊台, Tokugawa-ke Reidai) on Koyasan was built in 1643 by the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu in order for his family to have a mausoleum close to Kobo Daishi's mausoleum. It consists of two buildings which enshrine Iemitsu's grandfather Ieyasu and father Hidetada, the first two Tokugawa shogun. The mausoleum's two identical buildings took twenty years to be completed and were built in the extravagant style of the early Edo Period with graceful sloping roofs, rich ornamentation, intricate carvings, lacquer and gold leaf. The two buildings stand side by side. The one on the right enshrines Ieyasu and the one on the left Hidetada.
JGA