Minobusan, the head base of the Nichiren school of Buddhism is in my opinion one of the most beautiful places in Japan. Upon travelling here 2 years ago and forgetting my camera and phone (so no photos!) I made a pledge to go back here one day so that I could capture some of its beauty. I'm not sure if I did it any justice, however the photos I took here remind me of what a wonderful place it truly is!
Getting there
Taking around one and a half hours travel one way, lots of walking, photo taking and talking in the natural beauty of the surroundings. I would definitely recommend this as a day trip. In particular planning to arrive around 12-1pm would be best. Pack your camera, a bottle of water and prepare your self for allot of walking and climbing! (As such wear manoeuvrable pants)
- From Kofu station(甲府駅)catch the train to Minobu (身延). This should take around an hour and a bit.
- Getting off at Minobu station, exit the front gates and you should see a bus stand (really just a traffic island)
- Catch the bus to Minobu mountain (身延山) around 200Y.
- From the bus stop, head to the main street and then keep heading up hill past all the tourist traps until you reach the main gates.
- Get ready to climb the largest staircase of your life!
- Your here!
Walk from the bus to the stairs
When I went, there was a Buddhist festival, so many people in white clothes walked around chanting the Nichiren motto "nan mu myo hyo ren ge kyou". It was really beautiful to hear in the background and also gave the place life! Arriving at the gates I felt a sense of awe at how large it was. Hundreds of years ago people built this wonderful wooden gate and it still stands today.
The staircase from hell
I'm a fan of challenges, so this was great! but for the elderly (most of the people there) this was an incredible challenge! One of my Japanese friends from Yamanashi once described these stairs to me as "Heart popping", I think this is a pretty good description of how many feel facing this feat.
The gallery of temples
At the top of the stairs the land flattens out and you arrive in a large (what I like to call) gallery of temples. A large street stretches for what feels like a kilometre lined side by side by wonderful large temples.
The summit of Minobu
To get to the summit you have two choices
After the stairs and because I arrived at 3pm in the afternoon it was already getting dark, so a 3 hour hike was out of the question. But If I ever went back again I would definitely like to walk to the summit.
The summit lies 1153m above sea level and has impressive views of the landscape below. On the top there is also a temple built by the Nichiren master (from Chiba). A short walk behind the temple you can see north and in the background the tips of the southern alps covered in snow.
- Catch the 1250Y Rope Way up the side of the mountain.
- Hike 3 hours to the top.
After the stairs and because I arrived at 3pm in the afternoon it was already getting dark, so a 3 hour hike was out of the question. But If I ever went back again I would definitely like to walk to the summit.
The summit lies 1153m above sea level and has impressive views of the landscape below. On the top there is also a temple built by the Nichiren master (from Chiba). A short walk behind the temple you can see north and in the background the tips of the southern alps covered in snow.