Travels With Bob & Son: Dewa Sanzan

Dewa Sanzan means "Three Mountains of Dewa" and indeed comprises the three sacred mountains of Hagurosan (羽黒山), Gassan (月山) and Yudonosan (湯殿山), clustered together in the ancient province of Dewa (modern-day Yamagata prefecture). Holy to the Japanese Shintō religion and especially the mountain ascetic cult of Shugendō, Dewa Sanzan are a popular pilgrimage site visited by many, including famed haiku poet Matsuo Bashō on his Narrow Road to the Deep North. If you're lucky, you may even spot a yamabushi ascetic pilgrim blowing into a conch shell.

Hagurosan

Five-storied pagoda.
Bashō commemorative stone.Hagurosan is the most easily accessible of the three sites and the only one that can be visited without some hiking.

The well-marked trail from the base of Hagurosan winds its way through the forest for a while, passing the beautiful wooden Gojū-no-tō (五重塔 Five-Story Pagoda) along the way. Built some 600 years ago, the pagoda is registered as a National Treasure.

Soon the ascent of 2446 stone steps starts. Easy to walk and not particularly steep, the climb is tiring in its sheer relentlessness, but you can pause at a popular teahouse halfway up for refreshments and get a certificate of climbing up the hard way. This will take around one hour if you're in reasonably good shape and don't dally too much. You can also visit the place where Japanese Poet Bashō wrote one of his many famous poems. Turn right at the cross after the tea house (not up the steps). You will have to backtrack after visiting.

Hagurosan (a mere 414m) does not have an identifiable peak as such, at one point the trail simply flattens out and after a torī gate you will find yourself on the grounds of the shrine. The main attraction here is the Sanzan Gōsaiden (三山合祭殿), venerating the spirits of all three mountains.