Mount Mitoku — Local services in Misasa

I highly recommend visiting Mount Mitoku. This is a step hike. They check to make sure you are wearing good hiking shoes twice. If you do not have appropriated footwear they have grass sandals. You have to be in a group of at least two people to do this hike. You sign in and out and they give you a sash to wear during your pilgrimage. The hike is a bit difficult, and you should know in advance that the trail is often closed. We were lucky to be able to hike as it normally isn’t open in March. The views were amazing and we enjoyed walking around the outside of temple buildings on the way up. (Take off shoes when you walk on the temple buildings.) When you reach the top the final temple is off on a very step rock face. It was amazing they were able to build here and it was a great hike with beautiful...

This is a fantastic hike! It's not long, so much as its very steep, but that was part of the fun! There is a section where you must use chains, which I thought was very fun, but could be difficult for some. The view from the edge of one the buildings part the way up is so beautiful, so its a good idea to stop and enjoy that for a few minutes. And the temple at the top is quite the site! Everyone we encountered along the hike was friendly, both fellow hikers and temple staff.

Please do keep in mind that the hike isn't necessarily easy, and its important to have the right shoes on. But it is lots of fun and the views...

It was one of the best things I've done in Japan. We went to this mountain with our Japanese friend and it took about 90 minutes to climb to the top. It is a sacred mountain and you really felt the amount of work that went into building all of this.

We also had sneakers which aren't good enough so we could buy traditional monk shoes which is the best shoes I have...