Almost a hundred stone lanterns climb through the woods; behind the small shrine the rock has a hole through it.
The path climbs straight up among the cedars, with almost a hundred stone lanterns lined up as far as the small shrine. Behind it, in the rock face, is the Ugeto-iwa: a natural hole in the rock more than ten metres wide and high. Legend says it was kicked through by Kihachi Hōshi, the servant of the god of Aso, and for this reason you climb up here to pray to pass an exam.
The shrine is dedicated to Izanagi and Izanami, the divine couple who in Japanese myth give birth to the islands, and to a third deity, Ishikimi Daishōgun. It stands in the Shikimi valley, at the foot of the outer rim of the Aso caldera.
ℹ️ It has no opening hours and no ticket: you go up whenever you like and you do not pay. The car park has ten spaces, next to the Shikimi post office; from Takamori Station, on the Minami-Aso railway, it is ten minutes by car. The climb to the small shrine is a stone stairway through the woods. The stairway in the woods is demanding and is not a walk on the flat.
🚉 上色見熊野座神社入口 · 5 min walk
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