Quote:
Originally Posted by uvahoo06
Bad News: All the accommodations are booked in Koyasan. There are two options as it stands right now: 
1) I can go up but basically stay up the entire night and catch the EARLIEST train back to Osaka in the morning. That means no sleeping for me--unless I can sleep in the forest 
2) Koyasan becomes just a day trip. I wonder whether there are other temples around Osaka that have a celebration comparable to this one in Koyasan. Does anyone know any info that might be of help?
Ughh...I'm pretty disappointed...
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Well, you could do the all-night thing, though it might get pretty cold at night in the height of winter. It has been known to snow on the mountain. You could appeal to the temples for a place to stay, especially if you're willing to just curl up on a tatami mat somewhere.
Every temple will be having some kind of celebration, some large, some small. 1 year I just watched it all on TV, and the other year I was there I went with some friends to a small temple in Nara prefecture.
If you do have to stay somewhere else, you might still be able to get back up to Koyasan on new years morning before you have to leave, though you could just visit whatever local temple is close for a taste of it as well.
Here are the train schedules to and from Koyasan, if this helps:
Nankai Koya Hot Net [Access to Koyasan] Nankai Electric Railway
Nankai Koya Hot Net [Access to Koyasan] Nankai Electric Railway
And here are the buses:
Nankai Koya Hot Net [Access to Koyasan] Nankai Electric Railway
And times to the airport and Osaka:
Nankai Koya Hot Net [Access to Koyasan] Nankai Electric Railway