Ise Shima Shrines vs Mt Koya Temples

We will be travelling to Japan in January 2015 and I have allocated two days and two nights to seeing the Mt Koya Temples and if we have time the Ise Shima Shrines in between Ishikagi (flying to Osaka) and Takayama/Shirakawa-go to see the light festival.

In terms of seeing both Ise Shima and Mt. Koya I just wondered if anyone had any feedback as to whether it is worth cramming both into the schedule or whether one is more rewarding than the other. We love historical sights.

We will be travelling via Japan Rail Pass and I really appreciate your feedback in advance.

Both are very important spiritual sites as well as historical sites. The pilgrimage routes to both are very well-known as well.

If you have a particular interest in Buddhism, go to Mount Koya. If Shinto interests you more, Ise will be better.

Ise is a special place but I'd recommend reading up a bit on Shinto, the shrine, and Shinto architecture to fully understand and appreciate it. It seems a lot of travelers who are ignorant about Shintoism have different expectations and can end up disappointed.

Mount Koya is easy to enjoy without any knowledge about it. The Okunoin is very atmosheric.

Which is better depends on you, but I would guess the average traveler will be able to enjoy Mount Koya more easily.

For an unusual aspect of Japanese history, you might find the emperor's tomb interesting. There are 69 in Kyoto and a few in Osaka.
You can see some here.
http://dickh.zenfolio.com/f546685544

Thank you for your help Rabityama. We have decided to see both and will get a guide on the Ise Shima Shrines. A day-night stay in Matsusaka will hopefully give us enough time to see the Ise Grand Shrine - Neiku and Geku. We will be coming from Koyasan the night before and I just wondered whether a rental car would be advisable with this short time-frame?

Itinerary for those days is as follows:

One night stays -
Osaka
Mt. Koya
Matsusaka (Ise)
Misima (Near Mt. Fuji)

The help is much appreciated.