Mount Ōyama, Kanagawa

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Ōyama
Ōyama seen from around the Ninotō slope. (November 2005)
Elevation	1,252 metres (4,108 ft)
Location	Kantō region, Honshū, Japan
Range	Tanzawa
Coordinates	35°26′27, N°139′13
Easiest route	Hike
Translation	大山 (Japanese)
Pronunciation	[Ō-yama]

Ōyama (大山, Ō-yama^?) is a 1,252m-high mountain situated on the border of Isehara, Hadano and Atsugi in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Together with Tanzawasan and other mountains in the Tanzawa range it forms the Tanzawa-Ōyama Quasi-National Park. Ōyama is a popular sightseeing spot in Kanagawa Prefecture.

1 Holy mountain
2 Sightseeing
3 Photo gallery
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Holy mountain

Because of its beautiful triangular shape resembling that of Mount Fuji, Ōyama has been of old regarded as a holy mountain and was the object of worship. Religiously motivated mountain climbing has been practiced since the Hōreki era (1751 - 1764) and the various paths leading there were called Ōyama highway (大山街道, Ōyama-kaidō^?). Today this name survives as the pseudonym of Route 246.

On the top of the mountain the head office of the Ōyamaafuri shrine (大山阿夫利神社, Ōyama-afuri-jinja^?) has been erected while half way up the mountain lie its lower shrine and the Ōyama temple (大山寺, Ōyama-dera^?). Another name for Ōyama is Afuriyama which can be written like 阿夫利山 or 雨降り山 meaning rain mountain as farmers pray at the Ōyamaafuri shrine to the rain god.

[edit] Sightseeing

A bus connects Isehara Station on Odakyu Odawara Line with the cable car station on the foot of the mountain. Between the town areas and the cable car station runs a narrow direct road which at the first shrine visit in the New Year and during the autumn colour season gets heavily congested with traffic. The cable car starts from next to the Ōyama temple and climbs to the top station which is situated not far from the lower Afuri shrine. Hiking from there it takes about 1.5 hours to the top of the mountain.

The good water quality of the rivers in the Tanzawa mountain range is used to produce Tofu and the area is locally famous for spinning tops. The flights of stairs between the terminus of the bus and the lower cable car station are lined with Tofu restaurants and shops selling folk crafts.

Every March the Ōyama Tofu Festival and the Ōyama mountain climbing Marathon between Isehara station and the lower shrine over 9km (altitude difference 650m) are held. Possible access points for an ascent are the cable car terminus, the temple Hinatayakushi (日向薬師, hinatayakushi^?) in Isehara, Minoge (蓑毛, minoge^?) and the Yabitsu ridge (ヤビツ峠, yabitsu-tōge^?) in Hadano.

[edit] Photo gallery

View of Ōyama from the Tennōji (天王寺, tennōji^?) ridge	View of Ōyama from half way up Mount Bukka	Ōyama from the viewing platform at Mount Bukka	Ōyama from the neighbourhood of Isehara
Ōyama from Tsuzuki in Yokohama	Ōyama from the environs of Ninotō	View from the Ōkuraone (大倉尾根, Ōkuraone^?) ridge at Ōyama (left) and Sannotō (三ノ塔, sannotō^?) (right)