In the compound is the Fudo-do, built in 1198 and the oldest surviving building. Inside is Fudo, the Resolute Buddha, who gives internal fortitude to the followers of Shingon Buddhism. The design is classic, but the modern materials detract from its original artistry. Inside is a painting of Kobo Daishi and another of Buddha as he enters Nirvana. Kobo Daishi's mausoleum Okuno-in is set in a grove of giant cedars surrounded by a massive cemetery with over 200,000 graves.
Numerous buses make the trip from town in only a few minutes.
The pathway leading to it is flanked by scores of tombs holding the remains of Japan's most outstanding families and luminaries, with the best known being the Nokotsu-do, an octagonal building where rest the ashes of countless devotees. Some graves are ageless stones covered in a blanket of green moss and lichens, while others are modern affairs topped by everything from dogs to rocket ships. Follow the path through the forest, where you will encounter the oldest of tombs, and you come to a temple complex lined with jizo in their distinctive red capes. Notice that the bottom of the stream is littered with tens of thousands of coins. You will come to the Toro-do, a temple that is radiant with thousands of burning candles and famous for two lanterns that have supposedly burned continuously for over 1,000 years.