Sando Path

A sando is a path through a shrine or temple that leads from the entrance gate to the worship hall and sanctuary. At shrines, a torii gate usually stands over the entrance to the sando. There are two main approaches to Chugushi Shrine: one begins with a flight of stone steps coming up from Lake Chuzenji in the south; the other is a wide road approaching from the east. Both are marked by a large bronze torii. Deep within the shrine compound is yet another torii that marks the entrance to the path to the inner shrine at the summit of Mt. Nantai.