Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama prefecture was the last destination of my week long Osaka trip. Never have I had a week long holiday in my life and I don't see myself going on any overseas adventures anytime soon, but if time allows I would love to throw myself out there again. To end my trip I had decided to save this destination for last because it was an unplanned schedule that I only added upon arrival, and this location was the furthest away from Osaka. It took about two hours by train, and then you had to transfer into a bus, but the bust ride was really short. Of course, like most of my trips I had decided to walk, but this time round the walk was pretty uneventful because you are literally walking on a driveway. There wasn't much of a view either so if I ever return I will opt to ride the bus instead. 

Again, like many of the areas that I had visited, there were many temples and shrines that you could visit. The temples here, unlike kyoto or nara, were not bustling with tourists. The atmosphere was relatively quiet and there was a sense of calmness and serenity throughout my experience here. 

Once I had gotten through the temple areas I had arrived upon the main attraction of this site which was the Okunoin cemetery. The cemetery is a large forested area with very tall trees covering a lot of light, and it was also a pretty foggy day so the surroundings were somewhat grey. It seemed fitting for this area because of it's overall nature, being a graveyard and such. There is a road leading you all the way to the end, and on the end of the road there was a temple. The temple itself was just another temple for me but the graveyard itself is a fascinating collection of history represented by the surrounding layers of stone architecture and tombstones.

This area, also called Koyasan, was a fascinating place to visit. If you have half a day to spare, and you make a quick start to your day, I would definitely recommend coming to this area.