Perhaps the most gawked at monument is the model of Apollo 11 erected in 1970, the year after the successful moon landing, by Shinmaywa Industries, which had nothing to do with the American spacecraft.

"Apollo 11 was a big event, and our firm had a lot to do with flying objects," a company official said. "It was also thought Apollo would become a good tool for improving the firm's image." But, he said, the company was criticized for building such a garish monument in a holy place.

Koyasan, or Mount Koya, is indeed one of the most sacred Buddhist sites in Japan, home to the Shingon sect, which was founded 1,200 years ago. There are more than 100 temples and a Buddhist university here.

An elevated plateau south of Osaka that is reachable by a cable car, Koyasan has a population of only 4,000 and a cemetery with 200,000.

"This mountain has been believed to be the most suitable place for the eternal repose," said Ryusho Soeda, chief priest at Rengejo-in, a temple here. "We will also accept any style." May Cost $3 Million

There are monuments here for war victims, mobsters, an association of termite exterminators, and pets. There are Christian graves as well as Buddhist ones. The priests say they don't like the commercialism, but the companies help support the temples, and the priests get a chance to tell visitors about the teachings of the Kobo Daishi, the founder of the Shingon sect.

Corporate tombs -- there are some elsewhere in Japan as well -- cost about $500,000 to $1 million, the priest at the central temple said. A few cost even more, such as a $3 million marble-laden monument built by a real estate company.