Togakushi Shrine is one of famous spiritual place in Japan.
Here is Shinto shrine.
Shugendo was done from Heian period（794-1185）,
here was known as sacred place.
Shugendo is religious hard training held in mountain.
Japanese people believe that they can get power in spiritual place.
So,they call those places “power spots”.
There are a lot of power spots in Japan.
And those are also popular as a tourist destination.
Togakushi shrine is located in Nagano city,Nagano prefecture.
But there is far from central city.
And Mainly there are four shrines.
Each shrine is a little far.
So I recommend to go by car.
I went 2 shrines of 4.
I did not go Hinomikosha(bottom in map) and Chusha.
Because I did not have enough time.
Each Shrine has parking area near entrance,you can go entrance by car.
Stop your car,and start walking.
Here is not hard as climbing,so you do not need to wear full climbing gear.
But you should wear walking shoes.
Here is Houkousha.(second from bottom)
Small shrines are seen on street side.
Plants are full of power!
And here is entrance of Okusha.
It takes about 30 minutes from entrance to shrine.
You can feel nature power.
Here is Zuijinmon.
And here is most famous place in Togakushi shrine.
Amazing Japanese cedar street.
Small Ksitigarbha.
Water fall is often worshiped.
White paper is called “Shide”.It show there is sacred place.
So,”Shide” is seen many Japanese shrines.
Here is Okusha shrine.
Here are many small shrines.
In Japanese sacred places,piled up stones are often seen.
I could not make clear why it is done.
But I think there is people’s pray.
So please stay it as it was.
And,please add your stone quietly.
This is a stump of tree.Here is also “Shide”.
Japanese people discover sacredness in various things.
I think it leads Japanese politeness.
Information
I went here July.
It was cloudy,later rainy.
I got wet in the rain,I felt a little cold.
Here is located Mt.Togakushi.
So climate is tend to change.
You should bring folding umbrella or raincoat.
And of course there are no shops,you must bring water.
Togakushi is famous for Soba noodle.
So you can enjoy Soba noodle!
About shooting
Here is covered with large tree and leaves,pretty dark even though day time.
So my photos are blurred.
Tgakushi Shrine(Japanese only)
Togakushi is not enough introduced in English.
So,here may a little difficult to go.
I went Matsumoto and Nagano in 2011.
That time,I was not good taking photos.
So,quality is so bad.
But because these places are full of charm,I wanted to introduce eagerly.
Related Article : Sublime Nature,Togakushi,Nagano