Dewa Sanzan

Dewa Sanzan, the Three Sacred Mountains of Dewa, is one of Japan's most important pilgrimage sites and the spiritual home of Shugendo mountain asceticism. The three peaks each represent a phase of existence: Mount Haguro symbolizes birth and the present, Mount Gassan represents death and the past, and Mount Yudono embodies rebirth and the future. Mount Haguro is the most accessible, with its famous cedar-lined stone stairway of 2,446 steps passing the magnificent five-story pagoda, a National Treasure dating to the 14th century. Visitors can experience yamabushi training retreats that include meditation, waterfall purification, and mountain trekking in white pilgrim robes. The shojin ryori vegetarian cuisine served at the temple lodgings on Mount Haguro is recognized as part of Tsuruoka's UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy designation.