Five reasons to visit
- BB
- Nov 23, 2016
- 3 min read
Nara’s Mt. Yoshino is renowned for the 30,000 sakura trees that cover the mountainside in glorious pink in the spring. However, there’s more to Mt. Yoshino than just its spring flowers. The area is rich in history and culture, and autumn also brings riotous colors to the mountain’s forests and sites. Here are 5 places to check out on your autumn visit to Mt. Yoshino:
1, The Oku-senbon Area
Mt. Yoshino is divided into four areas, Shimo-senbon (the “Lower Thousand Tree” area), Naka-senbon (the “Middle Thousand Tree” area), Kami-senbon (the “Upper Thousand Tree” area) and Oku-senbon (the “Deep Thousand Tree” area). The Oku-senbon Area is located right at the top of Mt. Yoshino at an elevation of about 800 meters. It’s home to Kinpu-jinja (shrine), the “Kakure-to” Hideout Pagoda, where a samurai warrior once hid from the forces of a corrupt and ruthless warlord, and the Saigyoan hermitage hut. The Saigyoan sits amid a stand of deciduous trees deep in the forest on the far side of Mt. Yoshino. A gazebo with benches offers visitors a place to relax, have something to eat and take in the scenery. The hiking trail back to the hermitage, a short, pleasant and easy loop, passes through a two more stretches of autumn color and a couple of great view points.
Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Kinpu Shrine Kakureto Hideout Pagoda Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Red Maple Leaves Sunlight Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Okusenbon View
Sarusawa Blog _ Kinpu Shrine Mt. Yoshino Nara _ 663highland Wikipedia Creative Commons Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Saigyoan Hiking Trail Autumn Foliage 1 Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Saigyoan Hermitage 1
2. The Takagiyama Observation Area
The Takagiyama Observation Area, a short ~650 meter walk down the mountain from Kinpu Shrine, is the highest observation point on Mt. Yoshino. Phenomenal views are a given, but in the fall Takagiyama is best known for the fiery Japanese maples and beech trees lining the road up to its observation area.
Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Takagiyama Observation Point from Okusenbon Zoom Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Takagiyama Empty Approach Path Autumn Foliage Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Takagiyama Observation Deck from Okusenbon Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Takagiyama Approach Path Autumn Foliage 1
3. Yoshimizu Shrine
In 1337, after being ousted from power a second time, first by the Kamakura Shogunate and the then newly created Ashikaga Shogunate, Emperor Go-Daigo fled the capital in Kyoto and established the Southern Imperial Court at Mt. Yoshino. Despite Emperor Go-Daigo passing away in 1339, the two courts continued to fight each other, both ideologically and on the battlefield, until 1392 when the Southern Court gave in to the Northern Court and the Ashikaga Shogunate. The palace and the golden throne room Emperor Go-Daigo established for himself at Mt. Yoshino still stand to this day. The palace has been converted into the Yoshimizu Shrine and visitors are welcome to tour the home of Japan’s ousted sovereign. The maple trees of the former palace’s grounds and the view of mountainside from near the front gate up the viewing and enjoyment ante with fiery colors in the autumn.
Sarusawa Blog _ Yoshimizu Shrine Garden Gate Autumn Leaves _ 663highland Wikipedia Creative Commons Sarusawa Blog _ Yoshimizu Shrine Autumn Leaves _ 663highland Wikipedia Creative Commons Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Emperor Go-Daigo's Throne Room Yoshimizu Shrine Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Emperor Go-Daigo's Dais Yoshimizu Shrine
4. Kinpusenji Temple
Kinpusenji, the Temple of Golden Peaks, was founded in the 7th century. It is the headquarters of Shugendo Buddhism, a school of thought that teaches practitioners that they must learn to tap into the power of nature around them in order to achieve enlightenment, and the second largest ancient wooden structure in Japan (after Todaiji Temple’s Great Buddha Hall). The soaring 34 meter tall (~112ft) structure was built in 1592 and houses three 1,300 year old, 7 meter (23ft) tall sakura wood statues of the Shugendo deity Zao-Gongen, the fierce protector of Mt. Yoshino. These unique statues are only displayed twice a year, once during the spring sakura season, and once during the fall.
Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Stairs to Kinpusenji Temple Autumn Crowds Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Kinpusenji Temple Sarusawa Blog _ Mt. Yoshino Nara _ Kinpusenji Temple from Afar
5. Yumoto Honoya Hot Spring Inn
No Japan trip is complete without a soak in a hot spring. Yumoto Honoya’s hot springs feature straight from the source chloride hot spring water (reputed to heal cuts and burns and ease chronic skin disease and sore joints and muscles) and open air pools or “rotenburo” that overlook the slopes of Mt. Yoshino, providing bathers with views of the sakura in the spring and the autumn colors in the fall.
Mt. Yoshino is easily accessible via the Kintetsu Line. A day exploring and enjoying the mountains many sites and fierce autumn colors is guaranteed to leave you satisfied.
Works consulted:
http://www.hounoya.gr.jp/onsen.php (Japanese)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emperor_Go-Daigo
Sansom, George (1961). A History of Japan, 1334-1615. Stanford University Press. pp. 7–11. ISBN 0804705259.
Titsingh, p. 295., p. 295, at Google Books https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=18oNAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA295&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false (French)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanboku-ch%C5%8D_period
http://www.kinpusen.or.jp/ (Japanese)
http://www.yoshimizu-shrine.com/ (Japanese)
Photo credits:
“Yoshimizu Shrine and Autumn Leaves.” This Wikipedia creative commons image from user 663highland is freely available at https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yoshimizu-jinja_Yoshino_Nara04.n3200.jpg under the cc Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.
“Yoshimizu Shrine Gate, Garden and Autumn Leaves.” This Wikipedia creative commons image from user 663highland is freely available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Yoshimizu-jinja_Yoshino_Nara07n4272.jpg under the cc Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.
“Saigyoan Hermitage.” This Wikipedia creative commons image from user 663highland is freely available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Saigyo-an_Yoshino_Nara01n4272.jpg under the cc Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.
“Kinpu Shrine.” This Wikipedia creative commons image from user 663highland is freely available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kinpu-jinja_Yoshino_Nara04n3200.jpg under the cc Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.
“Stairs to Kinpusenji Temple.” This Wikipedia creative commons image from user 663highland is freely available at https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%95%E3%82%A1%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB:Kinpusenji_Yoshino_Nara01n4272.jpg under the cc Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license.
“Zao-gongen Statue at Kinpusenji Temple.” This public domain image from WolfgangMichel is freely available at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zao-Gongen-Kimpusen-Temple-Yoshino.jpg
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