Dewa-Sanzan

This summer I went back to Japan and as such one of my main goals was to do some hiking. The boots I had been wearing for the past 4 years were certainly worn out so while in Tokyo I got a new pair from L-Breath near Shinjuku station. They turned out to work pretty well.
I had scheduled to hike with a few friends on Dewa Sanzan, the three holy mountains located in Yamagata prefecture. As such I knew I should try to get in some training before hand since I hadn’t done any hiking while in China. I run often and work out, but hiking for two solid days would strain my body in ways it was no longer used to. I also wanted to break in the boots and find any problems so I hiked Ono-Dake just south of my in laws home in Aizu, Fukushima prefecture. Ono-Dake is 1383m high and from the starting point it took me only about 2 hours up and 2 down. On the way up on more than one occasion I stopped and thought, ‘wow I am not in shape for this’.
I am very glad I took that hike because over the next 5 days I worked through the soreness of having shocked my body and so was ready to go for Dewa Sanzan.
With the weather looking fine, two friends, Jon and Danny, met up with me in Kitakata city. On a nice Saturday morning we drove north into Yamagata ken. I parked my car in Yamagata city and jumped in Danny’s car for the rest of the trip there. Danny had plans to snowboard on Mt. Gassan and so he let Jon and I off at the station in Tsuruouka to wait for a bus that would bring us to the bottom of Mt. Haguro. He would easily join us later in the evening as Haguro is only 414m high and can be climbed quickly.
Jon and I caught our bus and started our hike up Haguro happy to be out of the sun and under the cover of the forests leaves. It wasn’t long before we passed over a beautiful red bridge spanning a crystal clear river. On the other side the path went through trees over 500 years old and soon thereafter we saw Goju-no-to, the five storied wooden pagoda built more than 600 years ago. We carried on the trail and were passed by a yamabushi, a pilgrim blowing into a conch shell. He was leading a group of about 10 other men and women, pilgrims, up the mountain. We would see them again and again on our journey to the three peaks.
After a short break at a tea house we resumed climbing up the stairs (all 2446 of them!) and eventually came to a fork in the path. There was a sign, which was too difficult to read, but we assumed we had lots of time and so took the detour. We shortly arrived at a small pavilion surrounded by three stinking ponds of scum water. After deciding there was nothing to see we turned back to the main trail. We later learned that Basho, the famous haiku poet, had composed a famous poem at those three pools. I don’t know what he saw in them.

In the summer heat/ three pools turn to stinking mud/ not what Basho saw

A little later on and we were at the top of Haguro. We could see the tori gate to the shrine and knew there was more a bit beyond, but our ryokan for the night, Saikan, was just before this so we decided to get our room and strip off our packs before exploring the top. Before I go on I must say that staying at Saikan was on of the neatest parts of the trip. A traditional ryokan, it offers a small ofuro (indoor bath), traditional dining, and a large quiet place to stay. I would recommend it.
After leaving our bags inside we made it to the top were there were many sights to see. Especially intriguing was the Sanzan Gosaiden temple at the top. It is unique in many ways, but I was especially drawn to the 2 meter (6ft!) thick thatch roofing made from kaya trees. I don’t remember where, but I had read it is the thickest thatch roofing in Japan. There were many other smaller shrines at the top along with a smattering of tourist shops and a bus parking lot. After walking around for a bit we headed back for dinner and a bath. Danny showed up later and back in our room, feeling very relaxed, we cracked celebratory beers (not sure what we were celebrating as we were only 1/3 done with our hike)
The next morning we were up early to catch a bus that would take us from the top of Haguro to the bottom of Mt. Gassan, the largest of the three peaks at 1984m. On the bus with us was the same group of pilgrims from the day before and throughout the day we would pass them and they us along the trail. After Danny bought a hat and walking stick we were on our way. It was pleasant down below but after a certain altitude the clouds were clinging too closely to the peak for us to have any pleasant views. Then the rain started. We all had some rain gear, but still got pinned under a very small tree for 20 minutes waiting for the worst of the rain to stop. Reaching the top the winds picked up noticeably and the rain continued to drizzle, but it never got terribly cold. After spending a few minutes in a hut near the top shrine we began our decent on a trail that would bring us to Mt.Yudono, the last of the three holy peaks and the middle sized one. Going down got tough as the rocks were slick with rain and in some parts we were either going through snow or snow runoff/trails. About half way to Yudono Jon slipped and hurt his ankle. Some very helpful Japanese people nearby gave him some cold spray and he carried on, but would fall an additional 5 or 6 times no doubt because of his weakened ankle. I myself didn’t fall until near the end of the trail. As the trail reaches Yudono it forks going into a steep valley. The peak is not accessible. The steep trail into the valley gets so much so at times that chains and ladders are in place to assists decent. Even so the trail was a stream and going was not easy. Finally we arrived at the tori gate of the Yudono shrine entrance and the end of our hike. Overall a success and much fun. I would highly recommend this to anyone in the area as it has lots of interesting views and is a moderate but challenging hike. Oh, and did I mentioned the mummified monks in the area? Yes, it’s true