Autumn tourist season! Can you climb a mountain temple even if you lack exercise? ?

Hoshuzan Risshakuji Temple is a Tendai sect temple located in Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture.
This mountain temple is a nationally famous scenic spot.

The spectacular views from there and the numerous temples known as power spots are definitely worth a visit at least once in your life, but the temples themselves are located deep in the mountains, living up to their name of "Yamadera."
Some people who are not very active may be put off by this.

So in this article, I, a physically inactive person, will motivate myself to climb Mt. Yamadera and report on the highlights

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Climb 1050 steps!

The 1,050 steps are a good number to express just
how difficult Yamadera is. To put that in perspective, it's roughly the equivalent of climbing to the top of a 42-story building.
It's a mind-boggling number.

In the past, visitors could take advantage of this height to go down a super-tall slide on their way home, but it was closed due to the excessive speed and frequent incidents of visitors getting burned on their bottoms. You can
see that it's not only high, but also has a steep angle.

However, when I looked at the ages of the visitors, I saw that most were over 60 years old, so I thought that even though I'm not very active I could probably manage to climb the mountain, so I mustered up my courage and immediately gave it a try

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Konponji Temple Main Hall

The first thing we came across as we started our climb was the main hall of Konponji Temple.
This is the main hall of Risshakuji Temple, where the Yakushi Nyorai statue, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan, is enshrined.

Visitors can also receive a temple seal, so there were a huge number of visitors lining up on the day

It takes about 30 steps to get there, so there's still plenty of time

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trailhead

A short walk from the main hall, you will be greeted by statues of Basho and Sora
.

The quietness of the cicadas seeping into the rocks

He left behind the following poem, and this statue was erected in his honor

Leaving the Basho statue behind, we walked a little further and finally reached the trailhead.
Once we paid the admission fee, the battle of the remaining 900 steps began!

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Basho Memorial Monument/Haiku Monument

After climbing about 400 steps,
you'll come to a wide landing where you can take a break.

There was a large bench, so I sat down and took a rest.
I was getting tired.

As I sat and looked around, I came across the Basho Memorial Monument/Haiku Monument.
It was inscribed with a haiku poem and a passage about Risshakuji Temple, a temple on the Narrow Road to the Deep North. Unfortunately, it was a little hard to read.

After a five-minute rest, I regained my strength and it was time to get going

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Can you see the goal?

After walking up a little way from the rest area, a large gate came into view

Could this be the goal?!
1050 steps isn't that big of a deal!

I was so happy that I quickened my pace

but…

The real action is yet to come!
In fact, this is where the furious rush up the stairs begins.

By the way, this is the Niomon Gate.
There are 654 steps.
That means there is still a little over 30% left.

But let's do our best!

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Visiting the shrine by car

At the top of the climb, we came to Konjo-in Temple, which enshrines Enmei Jizo Bodhisattva as its principal image.
The way of worship here is a little different.

The idea is to spin this car around once.
The key is to spin it slowly.

This is called a pincoro guruma and represents the jewel and shakujo that are held by Jizo Bodhisattva Enmei

Stay healthy and vibrant forever

When the time finally comes,

Please visit the temple for your family, friends, and yourself while praying to Jizo Bodhisattva for the protection of life

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Obinzuru-sama appears!

After climbing a little further, you will reach the 984th step.
Here, the surrounding area suddenly opens up.

There was Neutral Academy and a mysterious bronze statue

This Buddha statue is called "Obinzurusama" and
is said to grant longevity if you stroke the statue.

Another thing that surprised me was this

Where the post was

Apparently mail is collected once a day.
It must be incredibly tough for the postman to go up and down these stairs every day!
Good luck!

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Arrived at the inner sanctuary!

Leaving Chusei-in Temple behind, we climbed a few stairs and finally arrived at the top of Yamadera Temple!

This is the inner sanctuary!

I finally made it to the top!
I was happy to find that I still had plenty of energy left.
It turns out you can still do it even if you're not very active!

I made several visits to pray at various places as I began my ascent, but this was my final visit.
I bowed deeply and left the inner sanctuary.

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There's still plenty to see! Enjoy Yamadera to the very end!

However, there is still much to see in Yamadera,
so if you have the energy left, be sure to check it all out.

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Kegon-in Temple

There is a side path just before the inner sanctuary, and if you walk down it for a while you will arrive at Kegon-in Temple.
Here you will find the Three-story Small Pagoda, a nationally designated important cultural property.

It's a little hard to see in the photo, but there is an intricately crafted small three-story pagoda standing inside

By the way, the view from here is also worth seeing, so don't forget to check it out!

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Kaizando

This Kaisan-do Hall is the hall dedicated to Jikaku Daishi, who founded Risshakuji Temple

When it comes to photos of Yamadera Temple, the Kaisan-do Hall and the Nokyo-do Hall are the highlights.
Be sure to take some great photos so you can brag to your friends that you went to Yamadera Temple!

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It's okay if you don't get enough exercise!

I'm not very fit, so I decided to climb Mt. Yamadera, but I managed to reach the top! I
was exhausted halfway up, but the feeling of freedom when the view opened up instantly blew all my fatigue away, and the descent went smoothly. All that was left in my body was a sense of comfort.

Even though I wasn't getting enough exercise, I was able to enjoy it

Of course, I had muscle pain the next day (lol)

Why not give up just because you're not getting enough exercise and give climbing a try?

INFORMATION

• Name: Mt. Hoju Risshakuji Temple
• Address: 4456-1 Yamadera, Yamagata City, Yamagata Prefecture 999-3301
• Phone number: 023-695-2002
• Official URL: http://www.rissyakuji.jp/

GOOGLE MAP

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