Mount Togakushi () is located in the former village of Togakushi, now located within the city of

Nagano, Nagano is the capital and largest city of Nagano Prefecture, located in the Nagano Basin (Zenkoji Daira) in the central Chūbu region of Japan. Nagano is categorized as a core city of Japan. Nagano City is the highest prefectural capital in Japan, with ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The mountain is 1904 meters (6247 ft) high. Mount Togakushi has traditionally been included in the

Five Mountains of Northern Shinshu The Five Mountains of Northern Shinshu () or Five Mountains of Northern Nagano Prefecture are the traditionally distinctive mountains that can be seen in the northern Nagano Prefecture. They are: Mount Iizuna, Mt. lizuna (飯縄山, 1917 mete ...

( 北信五岳) that includes

Mount Myōkō is an active stratovolcano in Honshu, Japan. It is situated at the southwest of Myōkō city, Niigata Prefecture, and a part of Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park. Mount Myōkō is listed as one of 100 Famous Japanese Mountains, and together ...

( 妙高山),

Mount Kurohime Mount Kurohime (Japanese: 黒姫山 ''Kurohime-yama'') is a stratovolcano located in Shinano town (信濃町), Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The mountain is one of the 200 most famous mountains in Japan (日本に百名山), and one of the 100 most ...

( 黒姫山),

Mount Iizuna , also written as 飯綱山 (Iizuna-yama), is a mountain located ten kilometers north-northwest of the heart of Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The mountain straddles the city of Nagano and Iizuna, Iizuna town in Kamiminochi Di ...

( 飯縄山) and

Mount Madarao Mount Madarao () is located between Iiyama and Shinano, Nagano, Japan. It is 1382 meters (4534 ft) high. Mount Madarao has traditionally been included in the Five Mountains of Northern Shinshu. Compared to other mountains (Iizuna 1917 meters, Toga ...

( 斑尾山).　 Mount Togakushi is now also part of

Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park is a national park in Niigata Prefecture and Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Established in 2015, and formerly part of Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park, the park comprises an area of in the municipalities of Itoigawa and Myōkō in Niigata Prefect ...

. It is one of the 200 most famous mountains in Japan (日本に百名山), and one of the 100 most famous mountains in Nagano (信州百名山). At the base of Mount Togakushi are located five

Shintoist Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

shrines belonging to

Togakushi Shrine The is a Shinto shrine in Togakushi, Nagano (city), Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is at the base of Mount Togakushi () in Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park. Togakushi Shrine consists of five shrines, known as the lower, middle, ...

: Okusha Shrine (奥社), and just below it Kuzuryūsha Shrine (九頭龍社), sit on the mountain; the remaining three shrines, Chūsha Shrine (中社), Hōkōsha Shrine (宝光社), and Hinomikosha Shrine (火之御子社) are located further away in Togakushi village. Okusha, in particular, is known for its cedar-lined avenue to the shrine. Historically, Mount Togakushi, like

nearby, has been a sacred site for mountain-based religious sects, generally called Shugendo. Togakusi zuishinmon

Name origin

The name Togakushi literally means ''hiding door''. The origin of the name relates to

Japanese mythology Japanese mythology is a collection of traditional stories, folktales, and beliefs that emerged in the islands of the Japanese archipelago. Shinto and Buddhist traditions are the cornerstones of Japanese mythology. The history of thousands of year ...

. According to the mythology, the sun goddess

Amaterasu Amaterasu, also known as Amaterasu Ōmikami () or Ōhirume no Muchi no Kami (), is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. One of the major deities (''kami'') of Shinto, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the ''Kojik ...

had hid herself in a cave in

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

, which brought darkness to the world. Other deities lured her to open the cave door, when one of the grabbed the stone door and threw it away (to Nagano) to prevent Amaterasu from hiding again.

Tourism

Mount Togakushi, Takatsuma, and Gojizo Panorama

''Togakushi Ski Field'' (戸隠スキー場) is located on Menou Mountain (メノウ山) which faces Mount Togakushi. ''Togakushi Campground'' (戸隠キャンプ場) and Togakushi Farm (戸隠牧場) are located at the base of Mount Togakushi. All three are owned by Togakushi Company founded by local residents to promote the natural beauty of Mount Togakushi and surrounding area.

Hiking

Although hiking Mount Togakushi can be done in 7-8 hours, the trail is technically challenging. The rating for the mountain in the

Nagano Trail Guide by Grade Nagano may refer to: Places * Nagano Prefecture, a prefecture in Japan ** Nagano (city), the capital city of the same prefecture *** Nagano 1998, the 1998 Winter Olympics *** Nagano Olympic Stadium, a baseball stadium in Nagano *** Nagano Univer ...

includes the following: ''There are some difficult rocky ridges, unstable scree slopes. Some sections have ladders or chains and thickets to push your way through.... Steep ups and downs where you need to use your hands.... Many dangerous sections with possibility of falling and sliding down.'' One popular route begins at the Togakushi Shrine parking lot and finishes at Togakushi Campground. Togakushi Shrine parking lot → Zuishinmon (15 minutes) → Okusha Shrine (1340m) (15 minutes) → Hyakkennagaya (1763m) (60 minutes) → Ant Tower/Sword Blade (蟻の塔渡・剣の刃渡) (1842m) (60 minutes) → Happounirami (1900m) (20 minutes) → Togakushi summit (1904) (30 minutes) → Kuzuryuuyama (1883m) (75 minutes) → Ichifudo Emergency Hut (1747m) (75 minutes) → Ippoi Spring (1620m) (30 minutes) → Obiwa (1596m) (10 minutes) → Gate (1270m) (60 minutes) → Togakushi Campground (1175m) (40 minutes). From Ichifudo, it is possible to hike to Gojizo Mountain and then

Mount Takatsuma at straddles the border between Nagano and Niigata prefectures, in the northwest of the city of Nagano and southwest of the city of Myōkō (Niigata Prefecture), and is also the boundary between the Kanto and Chubu regional offices of the Ja ...

, one of

100 Famous Japanese Mountains is a book written in 1964 by mountaineer and author Kyūya Fukada.Hyakumeizan, Hiking Japan!
. Japan ...

Ninja

Togakushi was the location of the Togakure school of ninja from the 12th century. Today, there is a museum, the Togakure Ninpo Museum (戸隠流忍法資料館, Togakure-ryū Ninpō Shiryōkan), and children's theme park, Kids Ninja Village (チビッ子忍者村, Chibiko Ninja Mura), located near Mount Togakushi. The Togakure Ninpo Museum is located near the entrance to Okusha, at the base of the mountain. The Kids Ninja Village is located near Chūsha Shrine.

Access

From JR

Nagano Station is a railway station in the city of Nagano in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The station is operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) and the private railway operator Nagano Electric Railway (Nagaden). Lines Nagano Station is served by the f ...

, buses run by

Alpico Kōtsū is a public transport company in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It is the core company of Alpico Group and is wholly owned by Alpico Holdings Co., Ltd. The company was known as until its merger with two affiliate companies on April 1, 2011. Headqua ...

leave approximately once every hour, and takes approximately 60 minutes (1500 yen). Various passes are available.一般路線バス (General Bus Route) #70 Nagano-Togakushi Highlands (in Japanese)

accessed Sept 8 2022 By car, Togakushi is approximately 20 minutes from central Nagano City via the

Togakushi Bird Line Togakushi can refer to either *Togakushi, Nagano, a village in Japan, *Togakushi Shrine The is a Shinto shrine in Togakushi, Nagano (city), Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The shrine is at the base of Mount Togakushi () in Myōkō-Togakushi Re ...

References

External link

Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park
Nagano Prefecture Tourist attractions in Nagano Prefecture Nagano (city) Shugendō {{Nagano-geo-stub