Koke Dera translates to "Moss Temple". The actual name of the Temple is Saihō-ji.
It rained all day this day. But I think that actually enhanced my experience at this amazing place.
Since they limit the number of visitor each day you have to make a request for access via snail mail at least 2 weeks in advance. They mail back your approval to act as your ticket. It has your date and time listed. They ask you to provide a desired day and then 2 alternate days. This postcard/ticket will only be returned to a Japanese address. The owner of my Air B&B made the arraingments for me. (As I said on the day 2 page, he's a super nice guy)
Once you are allowed in there is no time limit to how long you roam the grounds. When I left there was only one other woman from the morning group still on the grounds with me. I was there for close to 3 hours. Some of which was spent just sitting and "being" there.
However, before you are turned loose to explore the grounds, you must first sit through a ceremony. I personally found this to be very interesting. Lots of chanting, with drums and bells. There are 2 audio files you can listen to if you want. Photos and video were expressly forbidden inside the temple, but I used my phone to record the audio. The files should open in a seperate tab of your browser so you can listen to them while you look at the photos.But I won't have them play automatically. I HATE when web pages do that.
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