Koyasan

I was hoping to go see a cool Robot Show in Osaka this weekend, until I found out it was only on Saturday and Monday - thats the downer of working on a Saturday; and for some reason it was in feckin Hokkaido on Monday. I was really hoping to catch some exhibition like this in Japan..they look class. So on the recommendation of my flatmate, went to Koyasan in Wakayama prefecture on Sunday. This is the home to one of the big Buddhist sects in Japan and mainly consists of a big temple and graveyard set amidst the backdrop of a really old mountain forest (Koya mountain). It took a couple of hours on a slow train from Namba in Osaka, and then a short cable car up the mountain, but it was well worth it. The place is really atmospheric (kinda looks like Yoshimitsu's level in Tekken) with huge pine trees and moss covered monuments for various famous samurai and shogun. The weather was really nice which, to some extent, was actually a downer, as it would have been much cooler with some spooky mist hanging over the place. Anyway, alongside the coolness of the place were some pretty strange monuments dedicated by companies to deceased employees - such as a big granite rocket from some engineering company, and two huge granite coffee cups standing sentry for a UCC coffee plot. Saturday was the going away party for the one male school boss I have. First off the supposed Typhoon never materialised on Saturday (the kids classes were cancelled though which was fine by me). The school I went to after is pretty small and in the mountains behind Kobe where I have one nice kids class and one horrible one. He`s pretty sound and even has halfway decent music playing in the school which is a refreshing change. He`s being replaced by another male school director thought whom I think is ok too. Photos of Koyasan and going away party are here.