Shosenkyo Gorge Walking Trail

Shosenkyo Gorge has a 4.5 km long walking trail, and you can enjoy the gorge’s beautiful scenery along the walking trail that changes with each season.

Oddly shaped rocks and stones

Along the walking trail you can see oddly shaped rocks and stones with unusual names—Fur Seal Rock, Tofu Rock, Bear Rock, Great Buddha Rock, and so on. Look for rocks with unusual names as you walk along the trail!

Visit duration: 5 minutes

500 Wooden Rakan Statues

In Buddhism, the “500 Rakan” refers to the 500 monks who achieved feats worthy of honor and respect. These wooden seated statues depict the 500 Rakan individually with various facial expressions—laughing, crying, surprised, and so on. It is said that one way to honor the Rakan is to search the facial expressions of the seated statue trying to see if there is one that resembles yourself.

Wooden Seated Statue of Amida Buddha

This statue represents Amida Buddha, who achieved enlightenment after making 48 vows to save humans and all living creatures and training for many years.

Visit duration: 5 minutes

Stone monument dedicated to Osada Enemon, who opened the history of Shosenkyo Gorge

The Osada Enemon Monument is a stone monument dedicated to Osada Enemon, who opened the history of Shosenkyo Gorge, which began in 1843 with Osada Enemon building a path so that the people of Shosenkyo Gorge could improve their daily lives. This led to “Shosenkyo Gorge’s civilization and enlightenment.” At that time, the residents of Ikari Village made their livelihoods by selling charcoal and firewood on the streets of Kofu, but the trip into Kofu took a full day because the villagers had to take a long detour avoiding the path along the Arakawa River due to the poor state of the road. Seeing this situation, Osada Enemon undertook the difficult construction of a new path along the Arakawa River to Kofu which was completed around nine years later.

Visit duration: 20 minutes

Ishimon Stone Gate

Fully enjoy the thrilling instability of this enormous naturally formed granite gate as there is a slight gap between the rocks at the tip of the natural arch. The gate is also famous as a power spot.

Sengataki Falls

Sengataki Falls is a waterfall located in the deepest part of Shosenkyo Gorge. Created by a fault resulting from crustal movement, the waterfall has a drop of around 30m, with the water eroding the granite rock face as it falls. Sengataki Falls is located at the foot of Kakuenpo Peak, Shosenkyo Gorge’s symbol, and has been selected as one of the Top 100 Waterfalls of Japan.

Visit duration: 75 minutes

Crystal Road

With the discovery of crystal in Shosenkyo Gorge long ago, gem-polishing techniques and culture developed in the area and Shosenkyo Gorge became a sacred place for gemstones. For this reason, there are many gemstone stores in the area, which became known as the “Crystal Road.” We also recommend taking a stroll along the Crystal Road, which is lined with restaurants and a variety of shops.

Hoto noodles

For lunch, how about trying hoto noodles, a traditional local dish of Yamanashi Prefecture?

Visit duration: 10 minutes

Panorama-dai Station

Panorama-dai Station is the summit station on the Shosenkyo Ropeway. As the name indicates, the station provides magnificent panoramic views of various mountains in Yamanashi, including Mt. Fuji and Mt. Kita, Japan’s two highest mountains. The Panorama-dai Station is also famous as a spiritual power spot, and it is said that worshipping Mt. Fuji from the Ukifuji Plaza located next to the station will bring you good luck.

Visit duration: 10 minutes

Yasaburo-take

Yasaburo-take is a large monolithic rock. After a slightly thrilling climb along a mountain path to the top of the rock you are greeted with a breathtaking 360 degree panorama. From here you have uninterrupted views of Mt. Fuji, the Kofu Basin, Mt. Shirasuna, the Southern Japanese Alps, Mt. Kinpu, Arakawa Dam, and more. A dragon’s vein (terrain resembling a dragon) originating at Mt. Fuji is said to flow through Mt. Kinpu to the peak of Yasaburo-take, and so this place is known as an incredibly strong power spot.

Visit duration: 30 minutes

Kanazakura-jinja Shrine/Mitake Dosojin

Situated at the end of the long climb up Shosenkyo Gorge, the Kanazakura-jinja Shrine is dedicated to Mt. Kinpu (the shrine’s object of worship, believed to contain the spirit of a deity). The shrine was built around 1500 years ago after an epidemic spread throughout the country to worship the gods in each domain and pray for the eradication of pestilence and the good health of all. Even today, worshippers come to pray to the shrine’s sacred Ukon-no-Sakura for luck and prosperity, and it is known as the “Kanazakura Money Tree.”
As a deity that provides protection not only against the advent of calamities, but also for children’s healthy growth and blessings for fertility, Dosojin is a folk religion deity that is widely worshiped throughout Japan.

Visit duration: 30 minutes

Yamanashi Jewelry Museum

The Yamanashi Jewelry Museum aims to disseminate information about Yamanashi’s jewelry industry and the excellence of “Yamanashi Jewelry” through the industry’s outstanding skills and countless beautiful jewelry pieces that are created while protecting and maintaining the history and culture of Yamanashi’s jewelry making as a local industry that has been passed down over generations. With the mission of connecting jewelry-making skills and training, the museum displays a broad range of works centered on jewelry pieces but also including designs and crafts, in the hope that this will encourage people to think and learn about the present through history, leading to the creation of Yamanashi Prefecture’s jewelry industry of the future.