Gran Tenku train elevates journey experience to sacred Mt. Koya
With the launch of the Gran Tenku sightseeing train in April, Nankai Electric Railway Co. aims to turn the journey between Osaka and UNESCO world heritage site Mt. Koya into an experience of its own, highlighting the culture and produce of regions around the route.
Following on from its predecessor service, the Tenku, which ended in March, the Gran Tenku makes two round trips daily between Platform 0 of Namba Station and the temples of Mt. Koya.
The four-carriage train includes three passenger cars and a lobby lounge car serving drinks and light meals. With premium sofa seating and dining in Car 4, the Gran Tenku represents the operator’s first luxury sightseeing train service.
“Values and needs in tourism have changed significantly in Japan, and around the world. There is a growing demand for sightseeing trains that find value in the journey itself,” Shiina Mori, from Nankai Electric Railway’s sales and planning department, said.
The operator included flavors and crafts from regions along the route, around the Koya Line, in the train’s design and food service.
Traditional crafts featured in the carriage interiors include woodwork inspired by Osaka “ramma” transoms and “Sanada-himo” -- braided cord from Kudoyama near Mt. Koya -- in Car 4, and washing basins of Osaka Naniwa tinware, a craft dating back over 300 years.
※Background video courtesy of Nankai Electoric Railway Co.
The Gran Tenku also offers Nankai’s first onboard meal service in roughly a century.
The dining menu in Car 4 varies according to departure time and includes breakfast and lunch, with dishes made using ingredients from southern Osaka and Wakayama prefectures.
On the last train of the day to Osaka -- Gran Tenku No. 4 -- passengers can order afternoon tea. Dishes served on a three-tiered stand include a seasonal fruit tart and pudding topped with jelly made from a liqueur flavored with Wakayama Prefecture’s famous Nanko Ume plums.
“Our hope is that journeys on the Gran Tenku train will be a starting point for passengers to experience local produce and crafts and come to know the areas along the line,” Mori said.
The sharp contrast between destinations at either end of the journey is also part of the enjoyment.
In around 90 minutes, the Gran Tenku takes passengers from Osaka’s Namba district, near to the nightlife of Dotombori and the retro culture of Shin-Sekai and iconic Tsutenkaku Tower, to remote Mt. Koya, also known as Koyasan.
The Chinese characters for “tenku” in the train’s name refer to a vast sky or the heavens -- a nod to sacred Koyasan at an altitude of around 900 meters.
The Gran Tenku terminates at Gokurakubashi Station where a cable car takes passengers further up the mountain to Koyasan Station. Buses from Koyasan Station cover the remaining short distance to the temples and lodgings.
Nankai Electric Railway began operating direct trains between Namba and Gokurakubashi stations following the introduction of the cable car service in 1930, making Mt. Koya more accessible to worshippers.
Premium seats with dining in Gran Tenku’s Car 4 start from 11,230 yen ($70) for adults in a group of four.
Seating in other cars for the journey between Namba and Gokurakubashi stations is 1,700 yen plus the regular fare of 1,430 yen (including the cable car to Koyasan Station).
Mt. Koya is the site of a monastery complex established by Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai, also known as Kobo Daishi, over 1,200 years ago.
Today, Koyasan’s 117 temples are home to between 400 and 500 monks and make up the headquarters of the Shingon sect of esoteric Buddhism, which Kukai brought to Japan from China in the early 9th century.
Danjo Garan and Okunoin are considered the two most important sites.
At the western end of town, Danjo Garan is where the initial construction of a monastic complex began in the early 9th century and is where monks continue to train and hold services.
At the eastern end is sacred Okunoin, the location of Kukai’s mausoleum.
Under Okunoin's towering cedar trees over 200,000 grave markers and stone monuments include the graves of victors and the vanquished in battles during Japan's Sengoku warring states period.
Hogen Yabu, head of the administrative office at Mt. Koya’s head temple, Kongobuji, says that while some visitors might find it strange that enemies in battle are buried at the same site, by encountering the presence of Kobo Daishi at Okunoin people are able to find forgiveness.
“That is why so many people chose to build their graves close to Kobo Daishi, something which continues today,” he said.
While Okunion is revered among Japanese Buddhists, many people of different religious denominations visit the site, according to Kongobuji temple.
Ahead of summer, the head temple strengthened efforts to communicate to visitors that Koyasan remains a place of worship.
The temple began distributing leaflets and set up signs at locations including Okunoin offering guidance on how to worship according to Buddhist tradition and how to dress appropriately.
“This is a place where people come to pay their respects. We want to spread the message that visitors should adopt the right mindset,” Yabu said.
Over 50 temples at Koyasan also function as “shukubo”-- lodgings originally established for worshippers on pilgrimages.
Although the number of shukubo in Koyasan has decreased, it remains roughly equivalent to the number of Japan’s prefectures as each lodging typically served pilgrims from a particular region.
At Ekoin, a temple near the entrance to Okunoin, around 80 percent of overnight guests at are now foreign visitors.
Ekoin’s temple experience comes in varying degrees of comfort, with 29 guestrooms that range from compact Japanese-style rooms to a 100 square-meter luxury suite with private semi-open-air bath and garden.
Experiences at the temple include sessions of ajikan -- a form of meditation practiced in esoteric Buddhism -- open to beginners. Monks lead sessions for foreign guests and visitors in English, guiding participants through the basics of posture, breathing, and counting.
“We hope guests will come to feel that Buddhism is something much closer to everyday life, and that it can help them to improve the way they live their lives,” said Norihiro Fukayama, a monk and chief of administration at Ekoin.
Each morning at Ekoin, overnight guests can take part in a prayer service at the temple’s main hall. After the service, monks hold a Goma fire ritual in the smaller Bishamondo hall.
Ahead of a ritual in May, Sesshu Kondo, Ekoin’s chief priest, explained how the fire, symbolizing Buddha’s wisdom, is used to burn away the participants’ worldly desires and negative thoughts.
“Some of the services we hold are to pray for our ancestors, but this ritual is intended for those of us who are still alive,” Kondo said.
As Kondo led the ritual, feeding offerings into the fire, another of the temple’s monks set the pace with the beat of a drum and chants that intensified with the rising flames. In the confines of the hall, it was a hot, smoky, and vivid experience.
The fire eventually burned out and with it participants’ impurities, according to tradition.
And while ceremonies like this might mark the end of a stay in Koyasan for some visitors, the journey continues with the return to Osaka.
This article was submitted by a contributing writer in collaboration with LIVE JAPAN PERFECT GUIDE and with the cooperation of Nankai Electric Railway Co.
Find more information about the Gran Tenku train here.
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