One of the coolest things about my 1-month trip to Japan was hiking the Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail. I learned about this trail from a friend who lived in Japan and gave me some awesome insider advice.
I love hiking and being outdoors and thus it was a no-brainer: we would hike the Choishi Michi trail. But… it wasn’t so easy to find information about the trail.
Well, perhaps in Japanese there is lots of info, but unfortunately, I don’t speak Japanese. That's why I put together this extensive post, so you can read everything you need to know about the best hiking trail in Japan.
Hiking Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail
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Why you should hike the Koyasan Choishi Michi trail
I spent many evenings trying to figure out if it was possible to hike the trail in May, if we could store our big backpacks in lockers at a train station, how long the hike would take, etc.
The most useful resource I found was this map, but other than that information was scarce. That didn’t deter me and my husband from hiking the trail anyway and it was so worth it!
Hiking the trail was magical, we were the only ones on the track and fog was drifting through the forest, damping the sound of our footsteps and creating a mysterious atmosphere…
How long does the Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail take to complete?
The Koyasan Choishi Michi is 24 kilometers long, we completed the entire trail within 6 hours. We started our hike at Kudoyama station and finished at the Okunoin cemetery.
It took us 5 hours to get to the Daimon gate, which is already part of Koyasan town.
This map says the duration of the hike is 7 hours and 10 minutes; however, even if you take more breaks than we did, you’ll probably be able to finish the trail in less than 7 hours.
It's not a difficult hike, the total elevation is 800 meters but most of the climbing is in the first 5 kilometers.
Start hiking early in the day
That being said, I do recommend starting your hike early. We took the 8.22 train from Shin-Imamiya Station in Osaka and would have been able to start the hike before 10 am, had we departed the train at the correct train station. Which we did not…
Note: I recently received a comment from a reader who also did this trail and it took her longer to complete than planned.
I want to stress that it's important to be realistic about your own hiking speed. Please know that we are experienced hikers and hike rather fast. I strongly recommend to start early so you'll have plenty of time to complete the hike.
Most accommodations in Koyasan have a curfew (we had to check into ours before 7pm) and you don't want to be rushing while hiking the trail.
After all, this hike is a pilgrimage trail and meant for contemplation, not for stressing out about being late;-).
Where does the Choishi Michi track begin?
This leads me to my next point: exit the train at Kudoyama station!
This is the starting point of the Choishi Michi track, not Gokuraku-bashi station. We rode the train all the way to Gokuraku-bashi, which is the final station.
At Gokuraku-bashi you can take the cable car to the top of Mount Koya if you don’t want to hike.
If you prefer a shorter hike, according to the friendly Japanese railway employee you can hike to Koyasan from Gokuraku-bashi station, he said it would take about an hour.
From Kudoyama station you have to hike about 1,5 kilometers through the town before you get to the Jison-In temple where to trail officially begins.
How to follow the Koyasan Choishi Michi trail?
I downloaded a copy of this map on my phone, but once you located the Jison-In temple it's not really necessary anymore to have a map.
Because one of the coolest things about the Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail is that it's marked by 180 stone signposts (or chôishi), set at 109-meter intervals. These are pretty hard to miss!
Take a bear bell!
Take a bear with you! I didn’t know this but there are bears in the Koyasan area.
We had bought a bear bell before our trip to Japan, but mostly for our time in Hokkaido. I didn't realize there would be bears in this area of Honshu as well.
When we were at approximately 2/3rd of the hike, signs at the side of the trail appeared with warnings that many bears had been spotted in the area recently…
We spent the rest of the trail chatting a little more and a little louder than we usually do (basically, we tried to be as noisy as possible;-).
What to wear and pack for the Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail
The ultimate Koyasan hike packing list
We both only carried our day pack on the hike. For me, a 20-liter backpack is a perfect size for a hike or a day trip. Here’s what I wore and what was in my bag:
Clothes and shoes
- Hiking boots
- Hiking pants
- Merino (hiking) shirt
- Thin lightweight jacket
- Raincoat (we walked in the rain the first 30 minutes and hiking when you’re cold and wet is no fun. Make sure you also have a waterproof cover for your daypack, having wet backup clothes is even less fun).
- Hoodie
- Short-sleeved t-shirt
- 1 pair of shorts
- Flip-flops (not necessary, provided at Koyasan Guesthouse)
- 2 pairs of hiking socks
- Underwear and something to sleep in
Toiletries
- Hairbrush
- Deodorant
- Contacts and glasses
- Toothbrush and toothpaste
- Plasters/Band-Aids
- Betadine antiseptic
- Lush solid shampoo bar (not necessary, shampoo is provided at Koyasan Guesthouse)
- Ear plugs and eye mask (not necessary in my experience, it was very quiet at Koyasan Guesthouse)
Documents
- Passport
- Debit card
- Credit card
- Enough cash (you can't pay with cards at Koyasan Guesthouse)
Miscellaneous
- Travel sheet (not necessary, Koyasan Guesthouse is very clean)
- Travel adapter
- E-reader
- Sunglasses
- Scarf
- 1 packing cube containing all my clothes and toiletries
- Don't forget to bring a bear bell!
You'll notice there isn't a towel on the list, we paid ¥100 per person to use a freshly washed towel at Koyasan Guesthouse.
⬇️ Download a free copy of this list below.
Where to store your other stuff
We spent the night before hiking the Koyasan Choishi Michi trail in Osaka, in Backpackers Hotel Toyo, and left our backpacks there for the night we spend at Koyasan.
As there are no lockers at Kudoyama station, I feel this is a good option if your hostel allows it.
Update: reader Ian informed me there are now (a limited number of) lockers available at Kudoyama station!
The day after our hike we traveled back from Koyasan to Osaka, picked up our bags at the hostel, and continued to our next destination: Kyoto.
Unfortunately, we had no time to explore Osaka, but from what I've heard it's a very nice city!
Where to stay and where to eat in Koyasan?
Where to stay in Koyasan: Koyasan Guesthouse
We stayed at Koyasan Guesthouse Kokuu and I absolutely loved this place. The owners, Ryochi and Yuri, want Koyasan to be affordable for every traveler, which is why they started Koyasan Guesthouse.
Read more about their philosophy on their website.
Koyasan Guesthouse is a lovely place to stay. The design of the hostel is beautiful, clean, and white with artsy items.
The 1 person capsules are clean and spacious, each one has its own socket and the beds are very comfortable. We paid ¥3500 per capsule.
Click here to read more about Koyasan Guesthouse Kokuu
What about food?
On the Choishi Michi track
It’s important to bring enough food with you as you cannot buy anything along the track (it goes through the forest, no shops there).
There are some vending machines in Yadate (there are vending machines everywhere in Japan, apparently the country has the highest rate of vending machines per capita in the world) but these only contain drinks.
We bought food and plenty of water at the 7-11 in Osaka before boarding the train.
Eating in Koyasan
We had both dinner and breakfast at Koyasan Guesthouse, all the food was delicious… For dinner we had an amazing Thai curry and breakfast included freshly baked bread.
How much does a trip to Mount Koya cost?
Transportation costs
We bought a 2-day Koyasan Heritage ticket, which costs ¥2860 per person (¥5720 in total).
This included the train ride from Osaka to Kudoyama (or Gokuraku-bashi if you don’t want to hike), the cable car up to Mount Koya, and all the buses in Koyasan and vice versa for the return journey.
Read more about the Koyasan Heritage ticket here. Check Hyperdia for the train timetable and prices, I used this website all the time in Japan.
Note that the train part of this trip is also included in the Japan Rail Pass. If you've got a Japan Railpass it's cheaper to purchase separate tickets for the cable car and buses in Koyasan (instead of a Koyasan Heritage ticket).
Accommodation costs
Our stay at Koyasan Guesthouse (plus towels) was ¥3600 per person (¥7200 in total).
Costs for food & drinks
Total costs for food were ¥5747 for the two of us together:
- Breakfast and food for the hike bought at 7-11 ⇒ ¥2417 in total
- Coffee at Koyasan Family Mart ⇒ ¥330 in total
- Dinner at Koyasan Guesthouse ⇒ ¥1800 in total
- Breakfast at Koyasan Guesthouse ⇒ ¥1200 in total
The total costs of our 2-day trip to Koyasan for us as a couple came down to ¥18667/€149/$170.
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Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail guide: in conclusion
I hope I've convinced you to hike the Koyasan Choishi Michi pilgrimage trail, it really is a unique experience!
Feel free to ask any questions you may have by leaving a comment below or by sending me an email. Check out my other posts about Japan as well:
- Japan on a budget
- Japan off the beaten path
- Hokkaido road trip itinerary
- Tokyo itinerary
- Hiroshima itinerary
- Miyajima 2 day itinerary
- Japanese Alps itinerary
- Kamikochi itinerary
- Funny things in Japan
This post was updated in October 2022.
Natsu
Monday 25th of November 2024
Hi Lotte,
Thank you so much for the clear information. It helped us a lot with preparing our trip to Koyasan!
We hiked the trail middle November 2024 and I want to point out that parts of the trail are currently blocked. In fact, there are two official detours marked in this map, which was accurate in November 2024: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4909.html
The detours are marked well with signs along the way. You will have to descend nearly back into the valley for the first detour, and partly walk on streets, as well.
The final trail stats including both detours were as the following, from Kudoyama Station to Daimon gate: 25 km, 1300 m total elevation
In the end, we found it an amazing experience and definitely worth it :)
Chloson
Wednesday 13th of November 2024
Hi Lotte,
Thank you so much for the superb and detailed write-up! It’s saved me tons of time researching. I’m planning to hike this trail with my wife in late December 2024.
I have a question about the hike. I don’t think we’ll be aiming to complete the entire trail, as it might be a bit too much, especially with us hiking the Nakasendo trail (20+ km) just two days prior. Since it’ll be winter, two 20+ km hikes in four days might be too taxing for us.
From the map, it looks like we could start the hike from either Kami-Kosawa Station or Kii-Hosokawa Station. However, I’m concerned that we might miss out on some great sections of the trail if we begin at either of these points. Could you let me know if starting from one of these stations would still offer an amazing experience of the hike? And what highlights would we potentially miss by starting from either of these locations?
Thanks so much!
-Chloson
Ainara
Wednesday 27th of March 2024
Thank you so so so much for this post! All the info, incl. the overnight stay, is so useful! I am travelling also with my husband in Nov 2024 and we are looking forward to doing the trail and visiting Koyasan. We usually do lots of sports too and you really motivated us!
Mike
Sunday 29th of October 2023
Great writeup! Did this in summer 2017, loved the hike. Loved the advice about starting early. It was about 36 deg C and sunny when I did it, and turns out I didn't bring enough food and water.
I'm in decent shape from cycling, but did this with the wrong footwear, and it was a learning experience.
Absolutely looking forward to doing it again.
Emma
Monday 24th of April 2023
Hello I'm hoping to be travelling Japan in March/April next year, is this trail doable if you are not a huge hiker? I'm hoping to leave very early from Osaka (like 5:00am) and take a very leisurely stroll up the mountain. I have climbed mountains in the UK, snowdon (935m elevation, 4 miles length) and scafel pike (989m elevation, 6 miles length) a few years back, and I can build my fitness up over the next year. I'm just not a seasoned hiker so wondered if I'd be pushing myself too much?
Lotte
Monday 1st of May 2023
Hey Emma,
Thanks so much for reading and to answer your question: yes I think it's doable for people who aren't very seasoned hikers. The trail is very well-marked (once you've found the starting point;-) and while there are some steeper sections, it's mostly a gradual increase.
I'd wear good shoes, give yourself plenty of time (as you already mentioned in your comment) and plan your trip on a day with okay weather (we had a bit of rain, which was fine but I wouldn't recommend hiking in a heavy downpour). Have a wonderful trip!!!
Lotte