Japan Part 2: the quiet, the mossy, the spiritual

October 2024

Our time in Japan was a nice mix of exploring the bustling cities as well as discovering the small quiet nooks in nature. This post will focus on the moss, the dew, the shrines and nature's shadows that we came across while stepping out of the cities and immersing ourselves into the green.

I found that many of the significant holy places in Japan, such as temples and sacred shrines, were nestled into nature, creating a very serene and easy way to feel connected to your surroundings and spirituality. At this time of the year, the nature we encountered was dark, green, mossy and dense; it felt like moss covered many of our surroundings with a soft green blanket, and each time I saw these moss covered settings, I felt a sense of calm. Although moss is something super mundane (i've seen moss a million times growing in my childhood backyard 😂) I decided to look up the symbolism of moss and learnt that moss has diverse meanings across cultures that resonate with many aspects of our lives. Protection and guidance, softness and patience, new beginnings, humility and growth. For me, I decided to wear the mossy blanket of “new beginnings” and will carry this soft shawl on my shoulders throughout our travels.

In Kyoto we visited the famous NANZEN-JI TEMPLE, nestled into the bottom of a thick, dense forest. We decided it was time for some “off roading”and after exploring the general temple grounds, we climbed up the mountain and found our own unvisited treasure trove of hidden places. With no other tourists or even locals in sight, we continued climbing and found quiet shrines, sacred caves, empty cemeteries and places of prayer. It was absolute calm and serenity, and the higher we climbed, the more we came across deserted shrines nestled into the mossy mountain. As I looked down at all we climbed, I felt a sense of peace wash over me, like somehow, no matter where we will find ourselves, things would be okay.

Another day we visited the FUSHIMI INARI TAISHA Tori gate shrine. This is another sacred site and place of worship for many Japanese, built along a beautiful mountain outside of Kyoto. It is adorned with around 10,000 bright orange Tori gates to lead you to various shrines and places of prayer. Moving through each Tori gate represents the transition from mundane every day life into the sacred world. As Fushimi is a MAJOR tourist attraction, we had to hustle through the crowds and selfie sticks to reach the quiet places of calm. Thankfully, many tourists couldn’t handle the climb 😂 so once we left them in the dust and reached the top of the Tori gates we found serene shrines, small temples covered in candles, smoking in-scents and many gifts left for the gods. The views were wonderful.

The next beautiful nature we encountered was a day trip from Kyoto to NARA, where we were greeted with the warmest of welcomes. The city of Nara is covered with wild deer 🦌 who are deemed “divine messengers” of the gods. According to Shinto legend, the thunder god Takemikazuchi arrived in Nara in the 8th century riding a white deer. The deer carried a scroll in its mouth and warned humans that the deer would report their actions to the gods, thus, the deer in Nara are treated with great respect. Amazingly enough, upon our arrival to Nara we were met by hundreds of deer who in turn, treated us with great respect! The deer kept bowing their heads to us, yes, you read me correctly, the deers of Nara and the surrounding temples are very pious and have mastered the art of bowing. I’m not sure how or why they learnt to bow, but we were surrounded by hundreds of friendly deer, ready to play and to give a bow before hopping to their next group of visitors. Naturally, we had a bow-off with a deer to see who would back down first… Gabe VS deer….I must say, the deer were pretty serious about their bowing and did not back down 😂

Nestled into the forest of Nara, were beautiful temples, shrines and lanterns covered in my favorite...mossy green. As we walked along the dense paths through more bright orange Tori gates, we were greeted by new bowing deer who followed us up to the temple. It was a very special and "obedient" experience.

And finally, my favorite day trip outside of the city was to the mystical KOYASAN. First of all, the journey to Koyasan from Osaka was no easy feat… but incredibly worth the trek! We took a 2 hour train out of the bustling city, through many diverse landscapes until we reached the bottom of the Koyasan mountains. Once off the train, it was time to make our way up the steep and slippery mountain, but to our surprise and joy, there was a cable car that was available to take us the rest of the way up (thank god!). Through the fog, rain and clouds we were pulled up the rest of the mountain at an absolute 90 degree angle…it was steeeeep and I had to hold tight to not fall backwards. Once atop the mountain we had to take another windy bus through the twisted mountains until we reached the small town. At last, we made it, and Koyasan was truly a beaut.

Koyasan is a mountaintop sanctuary home to hundreds of monks and 117 temples. It is dripping with a sense of peaceful spirituality. Deep within Koyasan’s mossy forest lies, Okunoin, Japan’s largest cemetary and sacred home to over 100 Buddhist temples and monks. Although a day trip to the local cemetery may not seem like a tourist’s top choice, for me, this was truly one of the highlights of our time in Japan. It was a rainy, misty day and from the moment we entered the cemetary there was a feeling of dark wonder as we passed tombstones of over 200,000 monks, poets, shoguns, samurai, and writers. It is said that their spirits watch over the mountain, and as you walk through the forest, you can feel a distinct energy. It was powerful to walk among so many souls and years of life below our feet, and from the largest ornate shrines to the smallest, simple memorial, moss hugged each structure, growing new life around the stillness of those who came before.

The cemetery continued on for 2 kilometers, deep into the forest until we reached a beautiful temple illuminated in hundreds of soft lanterns, it was the perfect close to our journey among the spirits.

There were many places in Japan that made me feel wonder, and now whenever I see a moss covered patch in the streets or at a park, I remember that I too am carrying my own mossy green shawl over my shoulders. Ready to welcome each new beginning waiting around the corner.