5 things for travelers to do in Yoshino Yama(Mount Yoshino)

Mount Yoshino is one of the popular sightseeing spots in Nara.

Mount Yoshino is the mountain ridge that has a range of 8km of Oomine Renzan(Oomine Mountain Range)’s northern edge. 

It is the famous place for cherry blossoms.

It is said that there are 30,000 trees of cherry blossoms filling the valley and the mountain ridge.

There are many tourist attractions other than cherry blossoms.

Today, we will introduce you 5 fun activities to do around Mount Yoshino.

5 things for travelers to do in Yoshino Yama(Mount Yoshino)

① Seeing Cherry Blossoms

Of course, you don’t miss it.

Early April is the best time to see it in Mount Yoshino.

They bloom in order from the foot.

The scenery of the mountain’s color getting changed from green to pink.

It is breathtakingly beautiful.

There are about 200 kinds if cherry blossoms in Mount Yoshino.

When it comes to its history, these cherry blossoms are donated as Goshinboku(sacred trees) when En no Gyoja(a religious man) in Nara who is said to be a founder of Shugendo* opened the place in Mount Yoshino.

Mountain ascetics gather Mount Yoshino as a religious place.

In addition, the southern dynasties were placed around Mount Yoshino when the country was divided into northern dynasties and southern dynasties in 14th century.

 *Japanese mountain asceticism incorporating Shinto and Buddhist concepts

② Visiting Shrines and Temples

There are so many shrines and temples around Mount Yoshino because of the Nara’s history as mentioned above.

Mount Yoshino can be divided into four areas and there are more than 290 shrines and temples in total at least famous ones.

You can go around by using a ropeway or a shuttle bus.

There are too many shrines and temples to visit, so you should decide which ones to go in advance. 

There are some recommended courses and it may be the best way to follow one of them.

This time, let us introduce some of them.

• A tour of Shugendo temples related to En no Gyoja

You can learn the history and charm of mountain worship while viewing the statues of gods and buddhas in Shugendo buildings and temples, as well as related portraits and sculptures.

• Southern Court Historic Sites Related to Emperor Godaigo

From the ruins of the Yoshino Asamiya, walk to the Yoshimizu Shrine Shoin, which used to be the imperial palace, and walk along Nobemichi to the approach to Nyoirinji Temple.

• Mountain worship and a trip to remember Saigyo

You can go to Saigyo-an and Kinpu Shrine in Oku-senbon, and descend the slope from Naka-senbon to Shimo-senbon.

This is a course where the autumn leaves welcome you with the most beautiful beauty, and everyone who visits will be very pleased.

In front of Saigyo-an and Moshimizu, you can imagine and reminisce about the life of Mr. Saigyo.

There are other courses more than these ones such as visiting the world heritages or tours with volunteer guides and so on.

So checking the websites of the tourism association or asking at the tourist information center there will be helpful for you.

③ Have a Local Lunch

• Kakinoha Sushi

Kakinoha Sushi is local type of Sushi that is commonly eaten in Nara.

It contains sliced raw fish such as salmon, mackerel, etc. and vinegared rice.

The difference from usual Sushi is that its vinegared rice is rolled by persimmon leaves.

It has a long history.

It is said that it has been popular among people in Edo period because the area around Mount Yoshino in Nara is one of the major persimmon production areas.

The leaves of persimmon have highly anti-microbial action, so it is perfect to wrap Sushi.

Let’s try a traditional Nara food!

• Yoshino Tofu

Yoshino Tofu is a type of Tofu, espacially famous in Nara.

Yoshino Tofu has rich taste of been more than ordinary ones.

It is because the water used for Tofu is what is flowing from mountains such as Mount Yoshino, so it is so clean and pure.

And  Agesan(Aburaage) is also famous.

Agesan is made from Tofu, deep fried Tofu.

It is added to many kinds of Japanese dishes such as Misosoup. 

④ Enjoy Japanese Sweets at Café

• Kudzukiri

Kudzukiri is made by dissolving kudzu powder in water and hardening it into noodles like udon or soba.

Kudzu is a climbing perennial that can be found in the mountains and fields of Japan and it is often used for making Japanese sweets.

It has a smooth texture and can be eaten in a variety of ways, such as chilling it in the summer and pouring honey over it, or putting it in a warm pot in the winter.

It is like mochi or jelly, so even children can eat.

• Persimmon

Nara is the area that produces a large amount of persimmon.

Persimmon has been eaten since the period that Yamato Dynasties were placed in Nara around 3rd century.

So there are various kinds of persimmon sweets such as dried persimmon, persimmon with chestnut pastes inside it and persimmon jam etc.

You can enjoy persimmon sweets at cafe around Mount Yoshino.

⑤ Buying Souvenir

• Kusamochi

Kusamochi is a type of mochi made with leaves of wormwoods.

However, it is traditional Japanese sweets and you can eat everywhere in Japan, there is the very famous store in Nara close to Mount Yoshino.

The store presented the mochi to Emperor Showa because of its high qualities. It’s worth trying.

• Items with cherry blossoms motifs

There are many goods and foods related to cherry blossoms.

For example, cherry blossoms Yokan(sweet been jelly) is very popular.

You can enjoy both seeing and tasting it. There also handkerchief, accessories and so on other than foods.

You will have fun just to choose!

Summary

We introduced 5 ways to enjoy a trip on Mount Yoshino.

There are many ways to have fun including these ones.

Please explore Mount Yoshino and places around there in Nara!

I hope this will be helpful for you.