Mount Sobo is one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. The 1,756 m high mountain lies on the border of Taketa and Bungo-ōno in Ōita Prefecture and Takachiho, Nishiusuki District in Miyazaki Prefecture. It is the highest peak in Miyazaki Prefecture. In Ōita Prefecture only the 1,791 m middle peak of Mount Kujū is higher.

The Sobo Mountain range extends into three prefectures: Ōita, Miyazaki and Kumamoto Prefecture. Because of the volcanic activity which formed the mountain, huge rocks can be found everywhere in the mountain’s environments. There is a great variety of mountain climbing routes, ranging from animal trails to well maintained routes. Courses suited to all kind of people are possible from relaxed hiking for enjoyment to cliff climbing routes aimed at advanced people. Steep rock climbing routes can be seen from all trails in the neighbourhood of the summit. The surroundings of Mount Sobo abound in mineral resources which had been mined from the Edo period to the mid-Shōwa period.

The mountain is covered by old-growth forest. Typical species include Japanese beech and Tsuga. Going up from the lowland, the vegetation changes from evergreen forest over conifer forest halfway up the mountain, to Suzu-take and beech close to the summit Angelica ubatakensis is only found on parts of Shikoku and in the Sobo mountain range is a precious plant. The pseudonym of Mount Sobo, Mount Uba (姥岳) (uba meaning elderly woman in Japanese), goes back to the discoverer of the plant, Tomitaro Makino, who called it this way.

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Mount Ōmine 大峰山, is a sacred mountain in Nara, Japan, famous for its three tests of courage.

 Officially known as Mount Sanjō (山上ヶ岳), it is more popularly known as Mount Ōmine due to its prominence in the Ōmine mountain range. It is located in Yoshino-Kumano National Park in the Kansai region, Honshū, Japan.

The temple Ōminesanji, located at the top of the mountain, is the headquarters of the Shugendō sect of Japanese Buddhism and the entire mountain is part of a pilgrimage and training ground for the yamabushi.

Traditionally, women in Japan were not allowed to climb mountains sacred to the Shinto religions. While the origins of the traditions can only be guessed at, originally these areas were banned to unclean people, such as those who had recently had a death in the family or menstruating women, which was believed to be linked to Shinto concepts of impurity, specifically the “blood impurity” brought on by menstruation and childbirth.

Other sacred mountains had different traditions, such as segregating the sexes by season, allowing women to climb at some times and men to climb at others. It is believed that the reason for this ban was to remove thoughts of temptation from the Yamabushi monks who are supposed to practice the strict self-denial of a hermit in isolated mountain. Eventually the bans came to be called Nyonin Kekkai (女人結界) and toward women only.

Mount Ōmine is the headquarters of the Shugendō religion, an ascetic practice with a long tradition. Because of a decrease of ascetic practitioners in modern Japan, most Shugendō-related mountains are no longer used for mountain retreats and are now tourist attractions. Consequently, these sites removed their gender-restrictions and only Mount Ōmine remains.

Only Mount Sanjō has the ban on women. The Mount Inamura (稲村ヶ岳) section of Mount Ōmine is reserved for women and is often called Nyonin Ōmine (女人大峯), “Women’s Ōmine”. The holiest temple for the Shugendō religion is found at the Yamagaoka hill section, and a sign at the entrance to the mountain proclaims “No Women Admitted,” in English and Japanese. (Mount Athos in Greece, an Orthodox Christian site, has a similar ban on women.) Mount Ōmine’s prohibition is voluntary. There have been breaches every year by feminist activists but no trespassing charge has ever been filed. Every time the boundary is breached, the temple and the local community issue a request for people to respect their religion and tradition.

The ban has been challenged many times but without success. Supporters note that sexual segregation does not equal sexual discrimination. Supporters also state that the ban has an unbroken, 1,300-year tradition. Mount Ōmine’s designation as a World Heritage site by UNESCO was seen by critics of the ban to have given the gender ban a stamp of approval.

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Mount Ishizuchi is the highest mountain on the island of Shikoku and also the highest mountain west of Mount Haku on the border of Ishikawa and Gifu prefectures. It is known as ‘the roof of Shikoku’ and the sharp, rocky summit resembles a huge stone hammer (石鎚 ).

Mount Ishizuchi is an important object of worship in this region and one of the major centers of Shugendō, a sect of mixture of Shintoism and Buddhism. On the top of the mountain there is a small shrine called the Ishizuchi Shrine. This mountain is also known as one of Seven Holy Mountains (七霊山). There are several sets of heavy chains (鎖) leading up to the summit and this is the route many pilgrims opt to take, the longest set being 68m.

The climbing season opens every year on July 1, women being forbidden from climbing the mountain on this day. Between mid-October and mid-November, people come from far and wide to view the autumn colours.

The area around Mount Ishizuchi is a major part of Ishizuchi Quasi-National Park.

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Mount Aso is the largest active volcano in Japan, and is among the largest in the world. It stands in Aso Kujū National Park in Kumamoto Prefecture, on the island of Kyūshū. Its peak is 1592 m above sea level. Aso has one of the largest caldera in the world (25 km north-south and 18 km east-west). The caldera has a circumference of around 120 km (75 mi).

The central cone group of Aso consists of five peaks: Mt. Neko, Mt. Taka, Mt. Naka, Mt. Eboshi, and Mt. Kishima. The highest point is the summit of Mt. Taka, at 1592 m above sea level. The crater of Mt. Naka, the west side of which is accessible by road, contains an active volcano which continuously emits smoke and has occasional eruptions. Only the northernmost crater (the first crater) has been active for the last 70 years—1974, 1979, 1984–1985, 1989–1991, 2009, and 2011.

The present Aso caldera formed as a result of four huge caldera eruptions occurring over a range of 90,000–300,000 years ago. The caldera, one of the largest in the world, contains the city of Aso as well as Aso Takamori-cho and South Aso-mura. The somma enclosing the caldera extends about 18 km east to west and about 25 km north to south. Viewpoints from the somma overlooking the caldera are perched upon lava formed before the volcanic activity which created the present caldera.

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Hyaku (hundred)

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Mount Fuji is an attractive volcanic cone and a frequent subject of Japanese art. Among the most renowned works are Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mount Fuji and his One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji. The mountain is mentioned in Japanese literature throughout the ages and is the subject of many poems.

It is thought that the first ascent was in 663 by an anonymous monk. The summit has been thought of as sacred since ancient times and was forbidden to women until the Meiji Era. Ancient samurai used the base of the mountain as a remote training area, near the present day town of Gotemba. The shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo held yabusame in the area in the early Kamakura period.

In September 2004, the manned weather station at the summit was closed after 72 years in operation. Observers monitored radar sweeps that detected typhoons and heavy rains. The station, which was the highest in Japan at 3,780 metres (12,400 ft), was replaced by a fully automated meteorological system. As of 2011, the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the United States Marine Corps continue to operate military bases near Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji is a distinctive feature of the geography of Japan. It stands 3,776.24 m (12,389 ft) high and is located near the Pacific coast of central Honshu, just west of Tokyo. It straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures. Three small cities surround it: Gotemba to the south, Fujiyoshida to the north, and Fujinomiya to the southwest. It is also surrounded by five lakes: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Yamanaka, Lake Sai, Lake Motosu and Lake Shoji. They, and nearby Lake Ashi, provide excellent views of the mountain. The mountain is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. It can be seen more distantly from Yokohama, Tokyo, and sometimes as far as Chiba, Saitama, and Lake Hamana when the sky is clear.

The temperature is very low at the high altitude, and the cone is covered by snow for several months of the year. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.0 °C, and the highest temperature was 17.8 °C recorded in June 2008.

There are four major routes from the fifth station to the summit with an additional four routes from the foot of the mountain. The major routes from the fifth station are (clockwise) the Lake Kawaguchi, Subashiri, Gotemba, and Fujinomiya routes. The routes from the foot of the mountain are the Shojiko, Yoshida, Suyama, and Murayama routes. The stations on different routes are at different elevations. The highest fifth station is located at Fujinomiya, followed by Kawaguchi, Subashiri, and Gotemba.

Even though it is only the second highest fifth stations, the Kawaguchiko route is the most popular route because of its large parking area and many large mountain huts where a climber can rest or stay. During the summer season, most Mount Fuji climbing tour buses arrive there. The next popular is the Fujinomiya route which has the highest fifth station, followed by Subashiri and Gotemba.

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Hon,Moto (Book,Main)

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Ashikaga Yoshimasa initiated plans for creating a retirement villa and gardens as early as 1460; and after his death, Yoshimasa would arrange for this property to become a Zen temple. The official name is Jishō-ji (慈照寺) or the “Temple of Shining Mercy.” The temple is today associated with the Shokoku-ji branch of Rinzai Zen.

The two-storied Kannon-den (観音殿), is the main temple structure. Its construction began February 21, 1482 (Bummei 14 , 4th day of the 2nd month). The structure’s design sought to emulate the golden Kinkaku-ji which had been commissioned by his grandfather Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It is popularly known as Ginkaku, the “Silver Pavilion” because of the initial plans to cover its exterior in silver foil; but this familiar nickname dates back only as far as the Edo period (1600–1868).

During the Ōnin War, construction was halted. Despite Yoshimasa’s intention to cover the structure with a distinctive silver-foil overlay, this work was delayed for so long that the plans were never realized before Yoshimasa’s death. The present appearance of the structure is understood to be the same as when Yoshimasa himself last saw it. This “unfinished” appearance illustrates one of the aspects of “wabi-sabi” quality.

Like Kinkaku-ji, Ginkaku-ji was originally built to serve as a place of rest and solitude for the Shogun. During his reign as Shogun, Ashikaga Yoshimasa inspired a new outpouring of traditional culture, which came to be known as Higashiyama Bunka (the Culture of the Eastern Mountain). Having retired to the villa, it is said Yoshimasa sat in the pavilion, contemplating the calm and beauty of the gardens as the Ōnin War worsened and Kyoto was burned to the ground.

In 1485, Yoshimasa became a Zen Buddhist monk. After his death on January 27, 1490 (Entoku 2, 7th day of the 1st month),[5] the villa and gardens became a Buddhist temple complex, renamed Jishō-ji after Yoshimasa’s Buddhist name.

In addition to the temple’s famous building, the property features wooded grounds covered with a variety of mosses. The Japanese garden, supposedly designed by the great landscape artist Sōami. The sand garden of Ginkaku-ji has become particularly well known; and the carefully formed pile of sand which is said to symbolize Mount Fuji is an essential element in the garden.

After extensive restoration, started February 2008, Ginkaku-ji is again in full glory to visit. The garden and temple complex are open to the public. There is still no silver foil used. After much discussion, it was decided to not refinish the lacquer to the original state. The lacquer finish was the source of the original silver appearance of the temple, with the reflection of silver water of the pond on the lacquer finish. So contrary to Kinkaku- ji is the Ginkaku- ji not silver shining, but still a beautiful temple to visit.

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