my second home

Koyasan got a nice write-up on a Kiwi website earlier this month. I have slacked off on my New Zealand newsfeed reading, so it was only this afternoon that I got caught up on it.

The little lotus blossom of a town, surrounded by the famed eight peaks of the Koya mountains, is where I lived for three peaceful years. Whatever part of my nature that is peaceful, I owe to those years. My neighbors were mostly monks. I was known on a first-name basis by most of the 5,000 people of the little town. Or they at least knew of me as "Sensei."

I really miss taking the tram up to the town from Osaka. It used to add 10 minutes to the already 90 minute train ride. I used to be able to fall asleep for exactly 10 minutes and wake up just in time to get off the tram -- even while totally drunk. The station managers must've seen me each time and thought, "Oh great -- him again!"

I also miss the rock garden at the main temple.... I would sit and contemplate life for hours on end! This view was gorgeous when there was a light snow flurry.

While checking for more pictures, I ran across a new reason to be nostalgic. Finally, somebody's creating a web presence for the town, blog-wise. Now I can keep track of all the Koya-fun I'm missing on a recent blog-find. I'm glad they're finally getting that. I just wish *I* had been the one to do it!