Visited in person · Original photography
Origins and founding
Mount Oyama rises to 1,252 metres. It was called "Amefuri-yama", the rain mountain, and worshipped as a place for prayers for rain.
The lower shrine building. A chinowa ring stands in front. The mountain carrying the upper shrine rises behind it.
What to see
The cable car reaches the lower shrine. The main shrine is said to be another 90 minutes on foot / views over Sagami Bay and Enoshima / Koma-sando, 362 stone steps lined with souvenir shops.
Mountains seen across a tamagaki fence carved with donors' names.
The spring called "Oyama Meisui" and a torii. Water pours from a dragon's mouth.
Cultural context
The Oyama pilgrimage. About 200,000 people a year are said to have climbed the mountain in the Edo period. It was pilgrimage as popular travel, built on the same pattern as journeys to Ise (→ article Japan and its shrines).