Going to, Sleeping in, and Eating in Koyasan, Koya, Japan

I wake up before my alarm rings. Soon I am at the ground floor of Hotel Raizan, depositing my bag in their luggage storage area. I have a quick breakfast with what they have for sale: cereal, milk, and yogurt. And I say goodbye to my bag and to the receptionist and trace my way back to where I had come from last night, Nankai Shin-Imamiya Station, to start my journey to the town of Koya in the prefecture of Wakayama, where I will be staying for a night.

From Gokurakubashi, I take a 5-minute cable car ride on an inclined tram/cable car to Koyasan Station.

The entire trip, from Shin-Imamiya Station to Koya town, takes about two hours and I pay for each leg of the trip by showing my Koyasan World Heritage Ticket. There are faster trains—Rapid Express and Limited Express—that will shave off 10 to 20 minutes from the travel time. The Rapid Express operates every hour from 9AM to 1PM. The Limited Express is more frequent but is not covered by my Koyasan World Heritage Ticket. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).