Ishiwari-jinja Shrine 石割神社全体概要

Official explanation

Ishiwari-jinja Shrine

Ishiwari-jinja Shrine stands 1,143 meters above sea level at the eighth station of 1,413-meter-tall Mt. Ishiwari. The name Ishiwari, or “Riven Rock,” refers to an enormous fractured boulder that stands behind the shrine. According to the eighth-century Kojiki (“Record of Ancient Matters”), the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami once temporarily sealed herself in a cave, casting the world into total darkness. Local lore maintains that she used this massive rock to block the entrance.

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According to legend, good fortune comes to those who pass three times through the narrow gap in the boulder. However, the story goes, if the boulder detects someone unworthy in the gap, it slams shut! Before testing this tradition, visitors must climb the famous 403-step stairway to the shrine, which starts just through the torii gate near the Mt. Ishiwari Hiking Course Entrance bus stop and trailhead parking lot.

Hiking the Mt. Ishiwari Trail

Mt. Ishiwari is lightly forested, making its peak a good vantage point for viewing the surrounding mountains, including Mt. Fuji and Mt. Hirao straight ahead and the Minami Alps far off to the left. The trail from the parking lot to Mt. Ishiwari’s peak, across to Mt. Hirao, and back to the parking lot takes about three hours.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.