Touring the three great temples of Enshu in autumn foliage Hattasan,Yusan-ji Temple and Kasuisai
Hello. Today we are going to visit the three great temples of Enshu to see the autumn leaves. Earlier this summer, I visited Enshu for the first time and enjoyed the wind chime festival. There were many maple trees, so I thought it would be wonderful during the fall foliage season. As I thought, temples and autumn leaves go well together. I have been to Kyoto many times before, but I don't feel like going to Kyoto with the current over-tourism and huge crowds.
There are almost no foreign tourists here, so you can enjoy the autumn leaves at a leisurely pace. Twenty years ago, Kyoto was also a place where one could enjoy the autumn leaves slowly. One way to counteract overtourism is to promote other tourist destinations. This place is located in the middle of Tokyo and Kyoto, so it would be a decentralized tourist destination.
With the opening of the Trans-Chubu Highway, it is now easier to come from the Yamanashi area, so if we promote the area, we should be able to attract more tourists. There are temples and shrines with beautiful autumn leaves in Yamanashi, my hometown. If you don't like big crowds, sightseeing in Yamanashi and Shizuoka! If you like crowds, go to Kyoto. Well, I understand your desire to "see the autumn leaves in Kyoto".
Now, the first of the three great temples of Enshu, Hattasan. The precincts of the temple are large, and it takes an hour to stroll around. We arrived at 9:00 a.m., but the surrounding mountains were in shadow and the sun was not shining, so we ate the famous yakuyaku-yoke dango and waited for the sun to shine. After waiting for about 30 minutes, the sun was shining around the main hall, so I went ahead and took a video of the main hall. Autumn leaves are "best" when the sun is shining. Here in Houta-yama, there are many events such as cherry blossom festival, firefly festival, wind chime festival, and so on.
The famous dango (dumplings to ward off evil spirits) are sold in different flavors for a limited time each season. Just now they are selling chestnut dumplings and there was a long line of people waiting to buy chestnut dumplings. We ourselves, with the queue by our side, had ordinary dango to ward off bad luck in the warm store. According to the store owner, the earliest people line up at 4:00 in the morning.
I wonder how it feels to stand in line in the cold temperatures and in the pitch dark. Sales start at 10:00 a.m., so early birds will have to wait six hours. I can't believe it myself for a second. I can only stand in line to buy something for 10 minutes at most.
I'm talking about 30 years ago, when there was an unprecedented ski boom, and at that time you could often wait an hour to get on a lift or gondola. Indeed, even I had to wait in line for an hour. At the time, I thought waiting an hour for skiing was normal.
Now I would never wait an hour. What is considered normal varies from time to time. For those who wait in line, waiting in line is probably normal. A line to buy chestnut dumplings can be seen. From the main hall, we have come down to the dango teahouse area. The sound of fighter planes can be heard.
There is a Self-Defense Forces base nearby. Normal, fighter jets are flying in the sky. This is the end of the chestnut dango line, a little after 10:00. Even if you get in line now, there is a possibility that they are sold out and cannot be bought. We are back to the Niomon gate. The sun is shining only a little. Maybe the best time to come to Hattasan is around 11:00.
It's 10:30 now; there was no sun at all at 9:00. I will make a note of this for reference next time and go to the next temple. The second of the three great temples of Enshu, Yusan-ji Temple. Yusan-ji Temple is also very large and takes about an hour to explore.
Yusan-ji Temple is said to be beneficial for eyes, feet and legs. I have bad eyesight and bad feet and legs, but I don't specifically ask to get better about that. I just put my hands together and thank God that I am alive right now. Craftsmen pruning pines. Thanks to the craftsmen, we can see beautiful pines. Do you know what this sound is? I saw it here for the first time myself.
Probably you can't see it even in Kyoto. After about 15 minutes, I climbed up a considerable slope and came to the main hall of Yakushi. I am thankful to be able to walk like this. The last of the three great temples of Enshu is Kasuisai, Temples where sleeping is allowed. It seems to be undergoing renovation.
Just now, it is lunch break and construction is taking a break. No construction between 12:00 and 13:00, even though construction is underway. Where I went to shoot the video, if they are doing noisy construction, I would come back at noon. Construction was just on a lunch break. I'm lucky today.
These two statues, both beautiful. This temple is related to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The name "Kasuisai" is said to have come from a monk who was invited by Ieyasu and began to doze off, to which Ieyasu said, "Monk, you may sleep.
When you reach the inner sanctuary, there is a cave where Ieyasu hid to save his life. I also like these two statues. Sorry I didn't take a picture of it, but the dragon wood carving is also very nice. You can see the fighter plane flying on the left. Probably returning to base.
Usually, fighters leave the base and return to the base. If they don't return, they are in big trouble. This is the cave where Ieyasu is said to have saved his life. Any hero may have died before making his mark. I can't help but think of fate. I've almost died a few times myself.
I am thankful that God has kept me alive. Today was a trip to the three great temples of Enshu for the fall foliage. As usual, it was a fast-paced sightseeing tour, but there are various experiences to be had at the temples, so that's something for another time. the three great temples of Enshu is a place you will want to come back to again and again.
Cherry blossom season would be nice too. Well, thank you again for watching until the end.
2023-12-08 14:45
