Off to the left of the mid-point temple was a gate and more stairs. From this point, hikers could travel another one hour to reach the summit of Ooyama. As it was getting late, we agreed to save that trek for another day.
cutenekko at the gate:
stairs leading up to the summit of the mountain:
Japanese temples often have places where people can write their prayers on wooden tablets. These are hung in the open. I enjoyed looking and reading some of the prayers of others. Many said: "good health", "happiness for my friends and family" or "to pass the test".
Prayer board:
During the hike down, we encountered something special -- wild deer! They were a family of 3 -- two parents and their child "Bambi".
We continued to hike down the mountain, using the "men's trail". The stairs were all made of stone and quite steep....
stairs going up....
....stairs going down.
Once reaching the bottom, we passed through the small shops area, where all the shops were shuttered for the night. It was like walking through a ghost town....
I'll be sure to visit Ooyama again to climb to the summit. I hope you enjoyed hiking a mountain in Japan!
Ooyama information, maps and video is HERE. Shrine information is HERE.
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