I'm actually inside of Kansai International Airport,

not Fukuoka today.

And, I'm about to head over to Wakayama.

I visited Wakayama last year for an Ninja project

and it was gorgeous, I really loved it.

I wanted to see more.

So today, I'm gonna head out back to Wakayama

to Kudoyama Town and check out Mount Koya

and I'm really excited.

(air whooshing) With historical roots

in the Sengoku period, we're starting out our journey

in Kudoyama Town, at the base of the spiritual Mount Koya

or Koyasan in Japanese.

Over the next three days, our journey will take us

from the bottom of the mountain to an overnight stay

at a real Buddhist temple.

Get ready to take a deep dive with me,

into a very traditional side of Japan.

So now, we've arrived at Kudoyama station

and as you can see, it's quite quiet.

There's not much going on around here.

It's a very, very serene, very "inaka" (countryside).

They say that the population of Kudoyama Town

is only about 4000 people, so it's not very big.

Still, I can't wait to see

what they have going on around here, wee!

So, Kudoyama Town is very proud of its historic connection

to the Sanada clan.

You can see these "rokumonsen" symbols,

the six circles everywhere across town.

For those of you who are interested in the Japanese history,

it is said that the Sanada clan was exiled to Kudoyama Town

after fighting on the losing side

of the Battle of Sekigahara,

known as the greatest Samurai battle of all time

that ultimately pitted the East against the West.

The Sanada clan later fought during the siege of Osaka,

15 years later, where they were ultimately killed in battle.

Their story and their history are deeply intertwined

with the town's identity.

(digital swishing)

After a quick lunch, I headed over to Kanazawa Juo-Ken

to take part in a class teaching

how to make Japanese confectionary sweets.

All right, so I've put my hat on

and I'm about to wash my hands and I'm going to learn

how to make Japanese sweets in this cute little factory.

I'm very excited.

Cooking experiences are some of my favorite things to do

when traveling because they really open you up

to different cultures in a really immersive way.

Even living in Japan, I'm not so confident working

with bean paste to make desserts,

but these step-by-step instructions were so easy to follow

and I was really happy with the result.

They're both

daffodils.

(participants laughing in background)

So, we're at the end of the day

and we have arrived at our final destination,

final destination and we're here at Kuwaraku

which is famous for kakinohasushi,

which is basically oshizushi pressed inside

a persimmon leaf.

But, that's not all.

This sushi restaurant is actually

where we're staying tonight.

They also have a minpaku,

Airbnb type room in the back

where guests can stay overnight, which is pretty cool.

In a small town like this, you have to be versatile

in your trade, I guess.

Anyway, we're already starting our lesson.

We're gonna learn how to make kaki no ha sushi.

And, I'm just gonna hop in here and join.

The rural Wakayama area is known

for a bright orange fruit called the persimmon.

There are trees everywhere.

In kakinohasushi, the fish is first preserved

in a very strong vinegar and then wrapped in

the giant persimmon leaf and left overnight.

This traditional method of preserving

and wrapping the sushi allows it to stay good

for up to three days.

Making it the perfect snack to take on a pilgrimage

or a hike through the mountains.

So, the sushi that we made today,

we're not gonna eat today, actually.

We're gonna take it with us on our hike

through Mount Koya tomorrow and it's gonna be like

our little bento packed lunch and I'm so excited to try it

and now, it's super dark.

It is nighttime (chuckles).

Good morning.

Can you see that mist forming in the air?

But, it is 7:30 a.m. and we're just packing up our stuff.

And, we're going to go hiking in Koyasan

and I'm so excited and, apparently,

there's some really amazing historic shrines up there

that are super photogenic and that's my shit.

So, I'm really excited to get going in

and it's like, I don't even mind that it's an early morning

and I don't even mind that it's cold,

like I just wanna get out there.

I'm so excited, let's go.

Today, we embark on our pilgrimage to Koyasan

starting at Jison-In Temple

at the base of the mountain in Kudoyama.

Originally, Koyasan was a Buddhist mountain strictly for men

and women were not allowed to make the pilgrimage to the top

of the mountain.

So, they were given Jison-in to pray at instead.

These days, this temple is known for its feminine energy

and is a popular place locally to pray for women's health,

safe childbirth, marriage, and so on.

After a brief stop to pray for our safety during the hike,

we began the two and a half hour, eight kilometer hike

up the mountain.

We're taking an easy modified route

that only takes us about a third of the way up,

but for hikers going to whole way,

you can expect a 24 kilometer hike to take

about six to seven hours.

The winding paths slowly brings you up the mountain,

leaving Kudoyama Town in the distance.

'Kay, so, we have walked six and 1/2 kilometers

to reach the checkpoint where we are now

and it's time to finally try the kakinohasushi.

This is a marinated saba fish on top.

It's not raw.

It's been marinated, so it doesn't go bad as quickly

as regular raw fish sushi does.

It has a very special sort of fragrant flavor to it.

And, I feel like it's really important to mention

that you don't eat the leaf.

You don't eat the leaf, you just eat the sushi.

It's a good snack.

It kinda wakes you up.

Perfect, 'cause we're about to continue chucking

along this path for a little bit longer.

After a little detour, we walked another two kilometers

and arrived at Niutsuhime Shrine.

A Shinto shrine that is said to be the guardian

of the Buddhist Mount Koya.

It's interesting to see how both religions exist in harmony

on the mountain.

(religious leader chanting in foreign language)

While I was here, I decided to participate

in a ceremonial cleansing or an exorcism of bad luck.

This is something I've never done before,

but after hearing that this year is supposed

to be unlucky for me, I'm kinda glad I got it done.

And then, it was off to lunch.

Thankfully, a short walk from the shine is a cafe operating

out of an old traditional Japanese house,

where you can enjoy a set lunch made with local ingredients

and even try on and some of the traditional kimono

they have available if you're feeling adventurous.

Fast forward a bit, and after what feels like a long day,

we finally arrived at Rengejo-in Temple

in the Town of Mount Koya.

All right, it has been a long day and I'm so tired

and we have finally arrived at Koyasan

to the temple where we will be staying the night.

So, we've got all my luggage.

I'm finding my luggage.

It's beautiful.

So, this is the place of our shukubo.

A shukubo literally means sleeping with monks

and refers to temples, open to guests staying the night.

Originally open to traveling pilgrims

in need of a place to stay,

shukubo are now popular tourist attraction

for Japanese and foreigners alike,

looking for a spiritually cleansing getaway

from everyday life.

In Mount Koya alone, there are over 50 locations

where shukubo is available.

Now, it's typical Japanese ryokan-type hotels.

This is typically a lounge area during the day

and then once you go to eat your dinner,

the staff will come in and they'll lay down the futons

and set it up for bedtime.

So, that's why you don't see a bedroom in here right now.

But, these garden terrace views

are very, very nice, very relaxing.

And, here's my room where I'm staying.

The heater's on.

It's really, really nice in here.

As you can see, I have my lounge area.

I've got my bed

and then right beyond the bed space,

I have my own lounge area for views of the garden.

Once we've settled into our rooms,

we were invited to join in on several Buddhist ceremonies,

including the goma-daki ceremony,

where wood panels are burned in order

to grant the wishes written upon them.

After that, we had

a 40 minute silent meditation before dinner.

All right, so now, we're here for meditation.

The ambience is amazing.

Oh, it's cold.

It's time to eat.

I'm very excited.

It's shojin-ryouri which is Buddhist traditional food

that doesn't contain any animal products.

Very nice considering we did all that hiking today,

so this should leave us with a calorie deficit.

We'll be shredded in the morning.

At 5:55 a.m., the bell rang and guests were called

to the the meditation room to participate

in the six a.m. religious ceremonies.

This practice is supposed to help sharpen your mind

for the day ahead, but if you're not sure

what you should be doing, it helps to just go with the flow

and copy the people around you.

This is my first time coming to Koyasan

and I've heard stories about people making the pilgrimage

up to the temples, through the mountains.

It was my first time ever doing it myself and coming here

and it is truly a very spiritual and magical place.

I feel like if you're looking

to do something very cleansing and spiritual

during your trip to Japan,

this is something that I would throw on the list

because it just, it's so serene.

I even feel bad for talking right now.

It's so serene today, so quiet, so calm and peaceful,

like overwhelmingly peaceful up here, it's beautiful.

I spent the day on a guided walk around Mount Koya

ending up at Okunoin, Japan's largest cemetery stretching

two kilometers in distance.

According to Shingon Buddhism,

it's the home of many meditating spirits.

The silence isn't that frightening.

It's actually extremely calming.

With so many different places to explore in Mount Koya,

it's hard to truly grasp all of its history

and cultural significance in just one visit.

The more you learn, the more there is to learn.

For those interested in going deeper,

it might even be worth staying an extra day.

All right, so after spending a day wandering around Koyasan,

I'm ready to take a cable car back down

to the Hashimoto station, head back to Osaka,

get to Kansai Airport and go home.

And, we hiked halfway up, no,