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Almost everyone that goes to Kōyasan will get there from Ōsaka, although a few might go from Wakayama City if they go directly from Kansai International Airport and skip the trip into Ōsaka. If you are arriving from anywhere else in Japan, start by making your way to Ōsaka and the Nankai Nanba Train Station. Your dreams begin there...

• Transfer trains at Shinimamiya Station. Ask if necessary, but in general if you follow the crowds, you'll end up OK. I think that everyone has to transfer here because this is the end of the line for this train; i.e., if you don't get up a station employee will come chase you off the train. It takes about 15 minutes to get to Shinimamiya Station from Ōsaka, with no stops in-between.

• After transfering at Shinimamiya Station, get off at the end of the line, Gokurakubashi Station ('Bridge To Paridase' Station) at the base of Mt. Kōya. If you don't speak Japanese, don't worry. Just get off when all (100%) of the other passengers do. Gokurakubashi Station is the last stop; the tracks stop here. It takes about 90 minutes from Shinimamiya Station to Gokurakubashi Station.

• If you use the standard, and more frequent Express Train, it should cost ¥1,400 and take just about an hour and forty-five minutes.

• If you choose one of the slightly faster Limited Express Train (about 12 minutes faster), seats are reserved. These are more comfortable, but cost ¥2,160; the normal ¥1,400 plus a ¥760 upgrade for the Limited Express Train. As you can see on the railmap to the right (click to enlarge), the Limited Express Rinkan stops at Hashimoto anyway, forcing you to move over to the normal Express Train. The Limited Express Kōya goes all the way to Gokurakubashi Station and does skip the last dozen stops the the Express Train stops at, but the time savings is not substantial. More comfortable, yes, but more expensive. Not worth the extra money, in my opinion.

• Caution/Note: All of the trains from Shinimamiya to Gokurakubashi stop at Hashimoto Station. In some cases, the train is split in two, where the back half of the cars are disconnected so they don't have to pull so many up the mountain. They start with 8 cars in Shinimamiya, disconnect the back 4 cars at Hashimoto, and only pull those 4 cars up to Gokurakubashi. If you happen to be sitting in one of the back 4 cars, you will have to move to one of the front 4 cars at Hashimoto. I honestly don't know if this applys to ALL trains or just some of them. I'll look online and try and verify which, then update this note. In any case, be ready to do something when the train pulls into Hashimoto Station. Same train, just move to one of the front cars. Or, be sure to sit in one of the front cars when you leave Shinimamiya.

• Whatever you do, don't take a Local Train from Ōsaka, which stops at EVERY stop!

I don't know this route as well because i've only gone down to Wakayama City from Kōyasan once, never up from there. But, looking at online schedules i see these as example schedules for the transfer in Tengachaya:

• Take a Nankai Line train from Wakayama City Station to Tengachaya Station. (It takes about 55 minutes.) You can also leave from Wakayama Station (as opposed to Wakayama City Station) but you'll end up going back through Wakayama City Station anyhow. (Just making sure you know there is a difference between these two stations)

• Transfer to a Nankai Kōyasan Line train and go to Gukurakubashi Station at the end of the line and the base of Mt. Kōya. It takes about 90 minutes from Tenkachaya Station to Gokurakubashi Station.

• There are many options for which trains to ride going from Wakayama City to Tengachaya. If you take the Limited Express train they add a Limited Express upgrade fee of ¥500 to the price. I'd choose the Express Train.

• Once at Tengachaya Station and transfering to a Nankai Kōyasan Line train, they offer you the choice of taking a normal Express Train or taking another Limited Express Train.

  • Limited Express from Wakayama City to Tengachaya: ¥500 & 53 minutes. Limited Express from Tengachaya to Gokurakubashi: ¥1,260 (normal fare) + ¥760 (Limited Express upgrade) & 74 minutes. Gokurakubashi to Kōyasan: ¥380. Total: ¥2,900 and 132 minutes riding + some amount of wait at transfer in Tengachaya and at the cable car up the mountain.

  • Limited Express from Wakayama City to Tengachaya: ¥500 & 53 minutes. Express (not Limited Express) from Tengachaya to Gokurakubashi: ¥1,260 & 86 minutes. Gokurakubashi to Kōyasan: ¥380. Total: ¥2,140 and 144 minutes riding + some amount of wait at transfer in Tengachaya and at the cable car up the mountain..

• From Wakayama Station, take a JR Line train to Hashimoto. The online schedules i see show no stops in-between and a cost of ¥820 and 75 minutes.

• Once at Hashimoto, transfer to the Nankai Kōyasan Line and take this to Gokurakubashi Station as listed above in the "From Ōsaka" section. ¥850 and 83 minutes.

• Take the cable car up from Gokurakubashi Station to Kōyasan Station as above in the "From Ōsaka" section. ¥380 and 5 minutes.

• The one time i took this route down the mountain from Kōyasan to Wakayama Port in order to take the ferry across to Tokushima, the schedules were terrible. I remember waiting forever in Hashimoto for the JR Line train to come in. The Nankai Kōyasan Line and JR West Line don't seem to have very compatible schedules.

• For that reason, except for that one time, i always go to/from Kōyasan via Ōsaka and then take a high speed bus over to Shikoku. The ferry was a nice experience once, but now i always say, "been there, done that." If i could figure out how to make the schedules work out better, i would always take the ferry across, i love ferrys, but....

• Transfer to the cable car right inside Gokurakubashi Station and ride to Kōyasan Station on the top of the mountain. There is no ticket to purchase, that was included in the ticket you bought in Ōsaka or Wakayama City. Your ticket will be collected at the top of the mountain either by a staion employee or by you sticking it in a slot on the ticket gate. (The ride up takes 5 minutes)

  To get to the cable car, follow the crowds towards the front of the train. Once inside the very small station the cable car is to the right and then straight ahead. You can not miss it.

• Exit Kōyasan Station and look for the buses arcross the parking lot. Get in the one at the front of the line. Their schedule follows the train schedules, so the bus will fill up and leave quickly; you don't need to run, but don't dawdle.

• You get on the bus through the back door and exit through the front door. As you enter, there should be a little machine on the left, just inside the door, that automatically dispenses tickets. Take one as you board. The number on it tells the driver where you got on when you go to pay later.

• Get off at the stop nearest your lodging. Ask before getting on the bus if you're not sure where this is. Look inside the "Guide to the Nankai Rinkan Buses" (link below) for an English map of all the bus stops. The document also includes a list of the most common temples, and lodgings, with the nearest bus stop.

• Pay with coins at the front of the bus as you get off. Drop your ticket into the box with your change. There is an electronic sign at ceiling height at the front of the bus. Look for the number that is on your ticket, and your fare is listed below that. As the bus passes each consecutive stop, the fares automatically change taking into account where different people could get on and off.

• The coin collection box has a slot on the side that will break a ¥1,000 bill into change if you need it. Make sure you have coins and/or ¥1,000 bills, nothing bigger can be used and the driver doesn't have change. The first stop on the way into town is ¥210 yen, going up from there. (Fare Chart, in Japanese. Look at the 4th chart down from the top.)

Links:
- Nankai Trains & Stations
- Nankai Kōyasan Line Station Map
- Koyasan - World Heritage Ticket
- JR West Trains & Stations
- Nankai Rinkan Bus (The bus system on the mountain)
- Nankai Rinkan Bus Stops (Japanese)
- Nankai Rinkan Bus Schedule
- Guide to the Nankai Rinkan Buses (pdf)
- Official Website of the Kōyasan Tourist Association
- Welcome To Kōyasan (English/French/Italian)
- Welcome To Kōyasan (Japanese)
- Nankai Complete Guide To Kōyasan