An outdoor wonderland on the skirt tails of the Japanese Alps, it’s easy to see why Nagano and Toyama are known as the roof of Japan. Wild and untrammelled, here, some of the largest mountains in the country ripple as far as the eye can see, layered with snow-sprinkled plateaus, plunging valleys and frosted peaks. This is a place apart, cut off from the rest of the country, with deep snow and arctic storms sweeping in from the Sea of Japan. It’s also the home of Tateyama Shinkō, a mountain religion where climbing the peaks is a form of worship, facing hell in the ascent before reaching heaven at the summit.
Connected by the mountains running to the east is Togakushi. Set at the base of a smaller but beautifully rugged range, it’s also a religious centre, one dating back more than 2,000 years. Like Tateyama, this is a place shaped by its geography, but here the setting is softer; a series of shrines rising up through thick forest. Traditions here are tied to the very foundation myths of Japan and the Shinto faith. It’s a place where people come to absorb the power of the peaks — the power of Mother Nature.
AloJapan.com