#88 - Yamadera, a mountain-top temple

Yamadera (山寺), meaning mountain temple, is built in the mountains of Yamagata Prefeture. It was founded in 860 as a temple of the Tendai Buddhist sect. It is a great place for a short hike and for some great views. In most guide books I have seen, Yamadera is mentioned as a good side trip from places like Sendai, although you would have to travel a little ways to get there.

At the base of the mountain, you can find several temple buildings. The oldest building here houses a flame which is said to have been burning since Yamadera was founded. There are also some small shops for food, water and other things! I managed to buy a shrine book with a lovely picture of Yamadera on it (unfortunately, I didn't actually use it because I was yet to fill my other book with stamps!).

In the upper area.

Climbing up.

To get up the mountain, you will need to climb around 1000 steps, which can be a bit of a hike. You can see stone lanterns and small statues as you ascend. Needless to say, I was exhausted as I got to the top!

There are many buildings scattered near the top, and I could see other areas, such as a balcony-like seat in the rock face. Unfortunately, my bus going there arrived late, so I didn't have time to have a good look around. Added to my rushed hike (run?) up the mountainside, I really didn't have a good opportunity to take it all in anyway!

View of the valley.

From the upper areas, there is a great view of the surrounding valley. Luckily, the weather was good when I visited, so it looked great!


Yamadera is also famous for one of the places visited by the poet Basho. He wrote one of his well-known haikus here in 1689, which mentions the stillness and quietness of Yamadera. Here is an English translation:

"ah this silence / sinking into the rocks / voice of cicada"

Although my time there was short, I did enjoy being able to visit Yamadera. It was a place I had been wanting to visit since living in Sendai. If I am able to visit the region again, I would love to spend some more time here to leisurely take in the atmosphere. But, I'm not sure if I'll be thrilled about climbing up again!

#73 - Mountains and molehills

Added to the World Heritage List on June 22nd, 2013, Mt Fuji is perhaps one of the first images people think of when they think about Japan. Not surprisingly, Mt Fuji is a mountain. But it's not the only one in Japan.

Did you know that about 72% of Japan is mountainous? There is a mountain chain on each of the main islands. This was surprising for me to hear at first!

Sendai, or rather in Miyagi Prefecture, is bordered to the east and the west by the Ou mountains (奥羽山脈 Ou-sanmyaku). This is the longest mountain range in Japan which stretch for 500km. In fact, from most areas in Sendai, I could easily see the mountains in the distance. Whenever I would travel by Shinkansen to Toyko, I would always see the mountains in the distance. It got a little comforting knowing they were there (which later shocked me when I moved to Okayama, as it is terribly flat, thus no mountains). The Ou mountain range includes several well-known mountains, so for this entry, let's talk about Mt Zao.

Mount Zao

Mount Zao (蔵王山 Zao-san) lies on the border of Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture. It is the most active volcano in the north on the main island of Honshu and is 1841 metres high. It is a complex volcano - a volcano with more than one feature.

My photograph of the crater and view.

One of these features is the Okama crater (御釜 Okama). This crater was formed by an eruption in the 1720s and it contains a lake. An 'okama' is a traditional cooking pot which this crater is said to resemble. However, the crater and lake are also known as the "Five Colour Pond" (五色沼 goshikinuma) because the lake changes colour depending on the weather.

Me and Okama - it was very windy!

You are not allowed to go down to the crater, so you have to view it from a neighbouring peak called Kattadake (1758 metres). Actually, you can drive up to this part, which has a parking area, but the last part is a toll road so you would have to pay about 540 yen. When I visited at the beginning of June, 2013, a friend kindly offered to drive. It is also possible to get there by bus or by ropeway from Zao Onsen.

The shrine.

At the top of the Kattadake peak, there is a small Shino shrine. I'm not sure of the name of it, though I did buy some small charms. I also can't remember if I had my shrine book (my shuin-cho) with me to get a stamp. I have a feeling I forgot to take it, though. Also, there is a visitor centre here, where you can get some snacks (and of course there are toilets!).

Overall, Mount Zao is a great place to relax. A lot of people enjoying hiking around the area and you can see some great views!