VIDEO: A walk through Kitaguchihongu Fuji Sengen Jinja near Mt. Fuji

Main torii gate (Photo by Takahiro Takiguchi)

Located near Mount Fuji, Kitaguchihongu Fuji Sengen Jinja by Lake Kawaguchiko is one of the nation’s largest forest shrines spanning 99,000-square-meters. Ditch the crowds to this quiet place tucked into a corner of Fuji’s surrounding landscape, reconnect with nature and experience its unworldly calm.

Kitaguchihongu Fuji Sengen Jinja was constructed in the year 788, but its torii gate was there long before as a symbol of the boundary between Fuji’s holy grounds and the secular world, according to shrine legend.

To the right of the shrine hall, a torii gate marks the start of the Yoshida Trail that, after a multiple hour, tenuous hike, will take you to the peak of Mt. Fuji. Climbers who start at this trail stop at the shrine to purify their body and mind before making the steep climb to the top.

Kitaguchihongu Fuji Sengen Jinja (Shinto shrine)