Zao Mountain Worship Trail

The mountains of Bandai-Asahi National Park have been sites of Shugendo practice since the Nara period, a mountain asceticism blending Shinto, Buddhism, and folk belief. Practitioners called yamabushi have walked routes across ranges spanning Yamagata, Niigata, and Fukushima for over a thousand years. The Three Sacred Mountains of Dewa, including Mt. Haguro with its Five-Storied Pagoda and Yudonosan Shrine, remain active pilgrimage sites today. At the Shoreisai Festival on December 31 at Mt. Haguro, visitors can watch the ritual burning of a straw demon effigy. Routes like the Bandai-Azuma Skyline give a sense of the scale and drama of this landscape.