大山 [oo-yama] - Part 2

...a hike up Ooyama, in central Kanagawa, continues.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, halfway up Ooyama, is a temple. My friend and I prayed here before enjoying the beautiful views from the mid point.

Temple and grounds:

View from the temple:

After completing prayers, my friend whispered this temple had a secret and would I like to see it? Of course! To the right of the temple, was an entrance way, which dipped into the ground. Below the temple was a spring -- full of pure, mountain water.

The spring:

Close up of the dragon's head:

This water is said to cure drinkers of their illnesses and make their (ahem) private parts stronger. I drank from the spring and found the water to be very cold and tasty. Bottles were available to purchase too (¥300), for visitors to carry the water home.

There was one more secret. Walking deeper into the underground passage, we noticed bottles of sake along the wall. This temple produced traditional, Japanese rice wine. Sake is best made with clean water -- perfectly provided by the spring. Visitors were free to try some of the sake. I don't drink alcohol anymore, but my friend coerced me into taking a sip.

Sake bottle and cups -- free to sample:

The taste was crisp and sharp. 

There were also candles flickering along the damp, stone walls. My friend explained candles could be purchased, lit, and placed on certain shelves. Each shelf represented a wish requested by the candle's owner -- good health, good luck, etc. My friend suggested we light a candle. After placing it on the shelf, I got a photo:

Our candle (in the center):

We explored a little more around the temple and then hiked down, where we encountered something very special. Be sure to check in again tomorrow. ^_^

Ooyama Afuri Jinja Shrine is located at the mid-point of Ooyama. Scroll down the website HERE to see information.