Koyasan on national holiday

Hi. I will be in Koyasan on 21 March, which I just found out is a national holiday - Spring Equinox. What impact will this have on my trip? Will everything be closed? Thank you.

National holidays on Koyasan generally come with the same effects as weekends: more Japanese people will be traveling there. It will be busier. Everything will be open.

March 21 also happens to be the day when Kukai, the founder of Koyasan entered nirvana according to the solar calendar. This is a very important day with special events being held. I am also quite sure that it attract additional worshippers. On the other hand, it is an "isolated" national holiday, i.e. not joined with a weekend, which means that domestic travelers will be limited on how far they can travel.

Still, if you prefer your visit to be calm and regular over busy and "special", then I recommend to visit on a regular weekday instead of March 21.

Hi Uji, thank you so much for your detailed response. I really appreciate it. It is good to know things will still be open and I actually think it is lovely to be there on the day that Kukai allegedly reached Nirvana. I am staying for a few days, so I can cope with it being more crowded on this day. It may be a good day for walking in the beautiful forests. Thank you.