MOUNT NANTAI
Mount Nantai is a 2,486-metre high stratovolcano that is part of the Mount Nikkō Volcanic Complex in Nikkō National Park. Along with Mount Nikkō-Shirane, Mount Nantai is the newest volcanic edifice in the Mount Nikkō, which started to operate about 560,000 years ago. Scientific studies of its geological structure have established that it appeared about 23,000 years ago and that its last eruption was about 7,000 years ago.
Since its first known ascent by the Buddhist monk Shōdō Shōnin in the 8th century, the Nantai volcano, a sacred mountain of Buddhism and Shintoism, has been a place of pilgrimage maintained by the monks of the Futarasan Shrine of Nikkō, a World Heritage Site. For more than 1,000 years, the site was off-limits to women. One legend told that a woman was turned to stone when she tried to climb up there.
Although less well known than Mount Fuji, Mount Nantai is also ranked among the 100 most famous mountains in Japan.
To reach the top, you take a cable car called Akechidaira, located between the city of Nikkō and the village of Chuzenji Onsen, which allows visitors to access trails offering a panoramic view of the famous Kegon waterfall and Chuzenji Lake. A hiking trail leads to the summit, which is about 6 km long and follows steep paths through the mountain. The hike takes about 4 hours.
During the Mount Nantai Tohai Kosha Taisai festival at the end of July, pilgrims are numerous.
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