From the temple, continue off the beaten path

From the temple, there is a stairway that leads uphill over 200 steps to a smaller shrine. However, upon reaching the top, there was still more to explore—a hiking trail. I encountered two women having a picnic there, in the midst of nature. They were very kind and offered me food and drink.

Afterward, I embarked on a long, unfamiliar hiking path over twists and rocks. Rarely have I walked on such a demanding trail. It would have taken more pictures to illustrate this. Throughout the journey, I encountered not a single person, and the longer I followed the path, the more I understood why.

When I finally reached the end of the trail, I stepped onto a distinctly more pleasant hiking path and was greeted with a breathtaking view. Just around the corner, there was a great view of Hakone and the famous Mount Fuji/Vulcan, which, at 3,776 meters, is the highest mountain in Japan. It just didn’t want to show itself properly.

After that, I began my return journey, which was not entirely easy, as seen in the next post.