Hello - you can buy a special Koyasan World Heritage Pass ticket at Namba station (Osaka). This covers the Nankai rail connection between Namba and Gokurabashi, plus a return trip on the funicular train (that takes you to the top of the mountain) plus free bus rides all around Koyasan town for two days. You can get two types of pass - one for 2900 Yen and for the express train 3450 Yen. I paid the extra - but if you are not in a a hurry you can save a few yen on the slower connection. You can also get most of the way there using a JR pass but the route is a bit more convoluted. I have been to Koyasan twice now, both times in November - because it is high most of the fall colours were over - but it did snow a bit which made staying at the monastery extra atmospheric. Hop off the funicular and walk 10m to the tiny bus station - all buses go into town - can't remember the number we took but the bus route and times are clearly posted all over the area (in English). From the centre bus stop it was a five minute amble to the monastery. Enjoy your trip!

I believe the question was answered well. We stayed in a room towards the back. See if you can get it. It had a bay window overlooking a bit of the garden. It was lovely. The head monk speaks some English. Here spoke to us afterwards and gave us a tour. I hope you can have a similar experience.

タクシーで1400円ぐらいです。 バスならば千手院橋で降りてください

Hard to believe but you will really 'drop out' in Koya-cho! We booked through trip advisor but were unable to find a contact point before arrival. The Sojiin is run by Monks whose main focus is Buddhist practice and while there are many young tech -savvy monks on site the organisation is less so. There is a wonderful tourist information centre in town although English is limited. For Inquiries: Koyasan Shukubo Temple Lodging Association / Koyasan Sankei-Koh Co.,Ltd. 600 Koyasan, Koya-cho, Ito-gun, Wakayama 648-0211 JAPAN Phone is +81 (0)736-56-2616 but no email listed.