Mount Kōya

A large temple settlement in Wakayama Prefecture south of Osaka, first settled in 819 by the monk Kūkai and now the world headquarters of the Kōyasan Shingon sect. It sits on an 800-metre plain ringed by eight peaks, and that is why the site was chosen: the terrain is supposed to resemble a lotus plant. The original monastery has grown into the town of Kōya, which holds a university dedicated to religious studies and 120 sub-temples, many of them offering lodging to pilgrims. It is also a common starting point for the Shikoku Pilgrimage associated with Kūkai.