Kawaguchi Asama Shrine

Name: Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
Address: Fujikawaguchiko, Japan

Temple

Temple · Fujikawaguchiko, Japan 35.5311°N 138.7749°E

Why you should go

Ninety seconds on Kawaguchi Asama Shrine

Time needed

An hour or moreClimb both ways included

Best time

8am or 3 to 4pmWhen cloud is lightest

Cost

FreeTorii asks a donation

Effort

15 to 30 min climbLoose gravel underfoot

Season

Clearest in winterIce on the shaded road

Access

Uneven pathRoad partly gravel

Through a torii on the hillside above the shrine, you see Fuji framed between its posts on a clear day, one of the best-known photographs of the mountain. The climb to it starts among sacred cedars of great age.

What makes it special

The Sky Torii, Tenku no Torii, is a yohaisho, a place for worshipping Fuji from a distance. It is a small gate standing on a clearing on the side of the mountain above the shrine.

Around the shrine's main hall grow the Seven Cedars, sacred trees each about 1,200 years old. They are enormous at close range, and Yamanashi Prefecture protects them as a natural monument.

The shrine was founded in 865, after a great eruption, when an imperial order called for Fuji's god to be worshipped here. The Kawaguchi village around it grew up lodging pilgrims bound for the summit, and the shrine is now one of the places listed with Fuji as a World Heritage property.

Visiting

Inside the shrine grounds, start at the main hall and the cedars that grow around it.

From the back of the grounds, a path climbs the hillside to the torii. It starts inside the precinct, so there is no need to go back out to the road.

At the top, a short line forms in front of the gate for photographs: two or three groups on a weekday, five to eight at weekends and on holidays. Have your camera set before you reach the front, so your turn under the posts is quick.

Tips

Wear shoes with real grip. The path is harder coming down than going up, because the gravel slides on the slope.

Check the forecast the night before. Go on a morning when rain is clearing, and stay below on one where fine weather is due to turn wet.

At the shrine office, ask for the goshuin, the handwritten stamp, which here is drawn in the shape of Fuji. On 11 September, the shrine holds sumo bouts as an offering after the day's ceremony, from about 6pm.

Know before you goBefore you start the climb, ask at the shrine office about the current condition of the path up.The road up to the torii is a narrow mountain lane with few places for two cars to pass, and the car park at the top holds only a handful of cars. Unless you drive such roads with confidence, park at the shrine and walk up.The torii is run separately from the shrine and asks a donation at its entrance. Photography with a dedicated camera is charged there, while phones are free.

Kawaguchi Asama Shrine

Why you should go

What makes it special

Visiting

Tips

Nearby

Fujikawaguchiko

Chureito Pagoda

Mount Fuji