An ascent into the clouds
After visiting friends who run a guest house on the hillside of Onomichi, we crossed a series of high bridges, island hopping, to get to the town of Kotohira-gu, on the southern island of Shikoku. We were here to visit the Shinto shrine on the side of Mount Zozu.
In the old tradition, instead of walking all the steps up, people can hire a kago carried by two men. The 785 steps start in the town, first passing shops and restaurants until beginning a steep ascent up the mountain. We parked at a store on the main avenue where the walk begins, being given walking sticks for the climb. Parking was free with a small purchase in the store upon our return.
The hiker is quickly rewarded with views of the surrounding area. It was threatening rain this day, so we had our umbrellas as we navigated the seemingly endless slippery steps. There was much to see and appreciate on the way up as we passed gates, temple buildings, and carvings.
Fog embraced the area. While this is not a hike for the timid, we we were well rewarded for the effort. It was a very rewarding place to explore, with all the intricately carved wood buildings, lanterns and paper fortunes tied onto string to hopefully offset bad luck.
Arriving back down at the town, we stopped for hot bowls of udon noodles, and visited a sake museum. Photos taken in the town also include an interesting covered bridge and an old navigation landmark (lantern) built in 1860.
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