Koyasan
“Quickly Quickly, eat eat” We followed the monk garbed in brown down dark corridors, our slippers flip flopping akwardly against the wooden floors. Swoosh. The screen doors slipped open and we were rushed in.
Seemingly alone within our screened alcove, we perched ourselves properly but numbingly on the pillows in front of the many red trays and dishes. It’s a bit like Christmas opening up the lids of all the bowls and trying to figure out what was within. I try to listen hard to the guest in the other room who is asking questions in Japanese about the food to the monk.
The head monk pokes his head in the door looking for another guest, we point to the next door. He grins. The screen doors snap shut again.
I love all the food there, so many interesting textures and variety. The speciality of sesame tofu was great, but not so much the odd jelly leaves that aren’t quite sweet enough for dessert. I especially love the seaweed + rice combo for breakfast. A swathe of small nori that are used to envelop rice with your chopsticks to make little sushi bites.
By the end of the 2 days, we felt we had become part of the rhythm of the place. Morning prayers and news. A walk around. A nap. A walk around the garden. Dinner. Evening stroll. Early to bed. Nice.
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