Amanohashidate

Background

The 'Tango no Kuni Fudoki' records that it was the bridge to heaven built by Izanagi, which fell to earth; in the Edo period the Confucian scholar Hayashi Gahō listed it among the three great views. Most of the roughly 8,000 pines on the sandbar were planted in the Edo period — a masterpiece of 'people and nature in harmony'.

Local customs

• When doing 'mata-nozoki', keep your footing and watch your belongings and children (the viewpoints have special platforms)
• on the sandbar keep to the paths and don't trample pine roots
• when cycling across the sandbar, give way to pedestrians.

Religion & beliefs

• Chion-ji (Rinzai Zen, a sacred site of Monju Bodhisattva's 'wisdom', a must for exam candidates) and Moto-Ise Kono Shrine (Shinto, linked to the origins of Ise Jingū) stand at the south and north ends. Pray with 'two bows, two claps, one bow'
• wisdom fortunes at the Monju hall are very popular.

Travel tips

• Good all year, with swimming in summer
• access: from Kyoto Station the limited express 'Hashidate' takes about 2 hours direct to Amanohashidate Station
• we recommend the 'Amanohashidate View Land' chairlift + boat combined ticket
• there are mata-nozoki platforms at the viewpoints on both north and south sides.