I hopped on the train at 7 am this morning, heading west from Sendai into the mountains. The views were wonderful, especially when we left civilization behind and passed first through rural lowlands and then heavily forested mountains.
The train gradually emptied (although it was hardly full to begin) and about an hour later when we got to my stop – Yamadera – very few were left onboard. Almost as soon as I exited the train I saw the above sign, right on the station platform. I made a mental note to watch out for these mankillers.
There’s not much to Yamadera. In the old tongue it may have been called a ‘one horse town’. I followed a well-marked path along a street lined with restaurants (all closed of course; it was 8 am) until I reached the ‘trailhead’. It was time for me to climb.
A shortish rise of 75 steps led to this building, which is the entrance to a Buddhist temple complex known as Yama-dera but formally named Risshaku-ji. It’s about 1200 years old, and one of the most scenic and famous Buddhist temples in Japan since it’s built on the side of a mountain and visitors must climb a torturous amount of steps to visit.
The main entrance to the climb is a short walk left of the above photo. I paid my entry fee (¥500), passed through the big wooden gate, and this was my sight:
Not so bad, I thought. I’ve done worse. I climbed these like a mountain ape, rounded the corner and saw…
And then shortly afterwards…
And…
And these are just highlights, there were more stairs too. In fact the entire climb to the top is a nightmare of steps. I got there early to ‘beat the crowds’ and ‘beat the heat’ and while I succeeded at the first (I may have even been the first person to enter today) the second was another matter. Even at 8 am it was near 80F and 80% humidity, and it didn’t take long for me to sweat like a mad gibbon and feel the burn in my legs.
As you can see the surroundings were beautiful. The steps wind up the mountain through an ancient pine forest and there are tiny statues and carvings visible everywhere as you climb.
I can’t read the text – and was too tired to reach for my translator – but since I seemed to be the only person on the trail and since the surroundings were so quiet I found the climb very peaceful.
Except for the fact it was killing me.
I’m pretty fit for an old guy, and I’ve done strenuous climbs before (Tokugawa shrine, Eiffel Tower, Koln Cathedral), so I’ll attribute todays difficulty to the fact I haven’t really rested this entire trip and my 10 day step count average is currently at 18k! The more I climbed the more my legs burned and the deeper I was breathing. I’d brought a water bottle with me and it was empty very quickly. I pushed on.
How many people have made this climb over the more than thousand years of its existence? What famous footsteps were I following in? And if I dropped down dead of a heart attack how long until someone found me?
For all the challenge it’s not a long climb, and perhaps 10 minutes after I set out, I spied this little sign close to ground level. It says I’d done 640 steps and have only 360 to go! This temple is famous for having 1000 steps, although I’ve read there’s actually closer to 1100. This sign was my salvation (“almost done”) and damnation (“360 more?!?”), but just afterwards I faced this view:
Structures! Finally the temple complex was in sight! This gave me a burst of energy and I clambered up this last flight like a berserk bonobo. At the top I had two choices, and initially went left which led to about fifty more steps (!) and a pagoda high on the clifftop:
If you’re wondering who those guys are and how they got there before me, so did I! I hadn’t seen a single person on the trail, and when I bought my ticket they were just opening up. Maybe they live up here?
The view was breathtaking, and if you look closely you can see the train station. I didn’t mention above but I saw this pagoda from below and knew it was my goal, and it was a great relief to reach it. I was sweating and exhausted but I rested a while and enjoyed the view to regain some energy.
I returned to the junction and took the other path and found a cute little postbox! There’s a few structure nearby where (I assume) monks or caretakers live (since they had gardens behind them) and I assume this is for them. I put a postcard in since I just happened to have one I’d forgotten to mail when I went for the train. I’ll have to examine the postmark when it arrives.
A bit further along the path was another high fight of stairs, and at the top I found the main building. I haven’t mentioned there were several other shrine buildings in this area, most of which I just walked past, but this is the most imported and contains a very large golden Buddha statue.
Mum’s brother John passed away while I was in Australia and today was his funeral. In honour of John I lit an incense stick in sight of the Buddha and spoke some silent words.
Rest in peace, Uncle John.
(Incidentally you may notice that photography of the Buddha was forbidden. I was so fixated on getting a photo of the incense that I missed this. I apologize to the temple.)
It was time to descend. On the way down I paid closer attention to the residences, and realized that unlike other mountain temples I’d been to – none at steep as this one – there didn’t seem to be any road access. How did they get supplies up the mountain?
There was also a swarm of people heading up as I was going down. Notably most were older than me, and I didn’t see anyone at all much younger than about 30. It was reassuring to note that everyone seemed exhausted, and indeed a few seemed at their limit.
And even though the walk down was easier than up, I too was struggling at this point. I’d been watching for monkeys all day, but by this point had one attacked me I probably would have been destroyed.
And then, only about 45 minutes after I started, I was back at the base. It would have been longer had I stopped at one of the tea houses, but they weren’t open. I also never actually sat or rested except for a brief period in the pagoda.
Once at the bottom I headed back to the station, and the Buddha himself acknowledged my pilgrimage by placing an establishment selling shaved ice not far from the temple entrance:
It was the best shaved ice I’d ever had 🙂
Before I got on the train, a mystery. The above photo was taken from the train station platform, and the pink circle shows the pagoda on the clifftop I enjoyed the view from. But there’s another smaller one on the right (I circled in yellow) and as best I could tell there was no way to access it. I wonder what it’s used for?
Before noon I was back in Sendai. A quick rest in my room, then lunch, a bit more shopping and a lot of time in arcades. Even as I write this, about 7 hours after the climb, I’m still recovering. It was a taxing experience, but worth it 🙂
