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Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan NP, Nagano
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Local tradition says Shugendo monks brought buckwheat to Togakushi as portable food. The familiar cut noodles, soba-kiri, came later: records show that noodle-style soba took hold here in the Edo period.
A record from 1841 counted 80,250 Togakushi devotees. Pilgrim confraternities brought worshippers from far beyond the mountains, many traveling the route to reach the shrine.
The stone torii at Ichinotorii, the old entrance to Togakushi’s shrine territory, toppled in the 1847 Zenkoji earthquake. Fragments of that gate still remain beside the trail.
At Okubo, several old routes to Togakushi met. One teahouse there traces its beginnings to 1624, when this busy crossroads served travelers heading for the mountain sanctuary.
Old choishi markers helped pilgrims keep their way: they were set at intervals of 1 chō, about 109 meters. The surviving markers between Ichinotorii and the shrines are city-designated historic sites.
At Fushiogamisho, pilgrims once had a view of Okusha and could pray toward it from afar. Trees now screen the shrine from this historic viewpoint.
Jippensha Ikku, known for his comic travel writing, visited Zenkoji and Togakushi in 1818. He later published an account of the journey, helping preserve a glimpse of the pilgrimage in the Edo period.
The trail has 30 carved stone posts, each marking a point of interest. Visitors can rub paper over the carvings to collect their images—a hands-on record of the places and stories along the way.
Togakushi Kodo is among Japan’s selected “100 Historic Roads,” a Cultural Affairs Agency program honoring routes important to the country’s history and culture.
