Day 3 of the First Shogun’s Path of Worship Tour - Atami

(You can read about Day 1 here and Day 2 here).

After breakfast and checking out of the hotel, we were on our way. On this day we were on our way to Izusan Shine - up 837 steps. 

First stop was the historic Hashiryu Hotel Spring. It is one of three major ancient springs in Japan, discovered around 720 CE. The name “Hashiriyu” means “running springs”, derived from the unique way the hot water springs from the mountains and runs down to the coast.

This is how it looks inside.

We stopped here for a wood carving class with Hitoshi Yamazaki, a Buddhist carver, who created a Shinto piece for us.

The wood is camphor, with a wonderful smell.

Looking out - the red roof building is our hotel from the previous night.

The carving class was about an hour and a half.  As we cleaned up, we enjoyed coffee.

This is my carving. We were each given a little box to keep our carvings in.

 

On our way again.

Izusan Shrine dates to the 5th or 4th century BCE, making it one of the oldest in the Izu Penninsula. The primary god enshrined is Izu Daigongen, an amalgamation of Honomusuhi no mikoto, Izanagi, and Izanami. Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed here for the restoration of the Minamoto clan.  Later, Tokugawa Ieyasu also revered the shrine for good fortune. Now it is also known as a power spot for love and relationships due to the legendary encounter between Minamoto no Yorimoto and Hojo Masako. 

We had another ceremony here, then visited the Shrine Museum.

The final part of our tour was lunch and a feedback session. It was a great trip, and I learned a lot!

On Saturday, I will have one more post from this trip, about hotels and meals.