Despite taking my time while going up the pretty river road, I arrived in Koya-san while there was still daylight, and found I'd lucked out: I had reserved a cheap youth hostel room, but because it was off-season and a weekday, I had it all to myself. Like most other facilities in Koya-san, the youth hostel doubles as a temple (though I don't think there's an early morning Buddhist service), and the rooms, though spartan, are just what you came here to experience.

I'd ordered dinner, even though being cautioned that the dinner was not technically the shojin ryori (traditional vegetarian Buddhist cuisine) that everyone comes here to try. "It's sort of our own style," the hostel manager said. When dinnertime rolled around, I found I'd lucked out for the second time that night: it was absolutely delicious, far better than most hostel cuisine. The photo may not do it justice...