Walk one of Japan’s most sacred pilgrimage routes with this comprehensive digital guide to the lower sections of the Ontake Kodo Pilgrimage Trail in remote Otaki Village
What’s Included:
- 56-page PDF guide with detailed trail descriptions
- GPX map file for navigation with your favorite app
- Navigation tips and trail photos at key junctures
- Practical information for a safe, smooth, respectful trip
- Bioregional, historical and cultural context of Mt. Ontake and its spiritual traditions
- Historic art and brief fictional pilgrimage narratives
Hike Details:
- Distance: ~12 km (7.5 miles) out and back
- Elevation gain: 402 m (1,319 ft)
- Difficulty: Moderate (some steep sections)
- Season: April – early December
This guide will let you encounter the natural and spiritual heritage the Mt. Ontake for yourself. It was written by the founder of Mindful Japan Tours, who developed the tour and spent 7 years living at the foot of the mountain. The hike starts from the center of Otaki Village and covers the lower sections of the Ontake Kodo (stations 1-4). You’ll visit beautiful Satomiya Shrine in the cliffs at the foot of the mountain, walk through quiet cypress forests, and explore the Waterfall Trail with its sacred purification sites at Shintaki and Kiyotaki Falls. Until now difficult to navigate without local knowledge or a guided tour, this e-guide will help you discover a rarely-visited corner of Japan while walking a trail followed by centuries of pilgrims.
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