Minobusan Kuon-ji

Nichiren came to Minobu in 1274, after his exile, and lived in a hermitage in this valley for about nine years. He asked to be buried here, and the temple that grew around his grave is now the head temple of the Nichiren Shu school. The way most people arrive is the Bodaitei, 287 stone steps from the Sanmon gate straight up to the main hall, split into seven flights for the seven characters of Namu Myoho Renge Kyo. They are steep and uneven, and many people stop more than once; an inclined elevator from the Seishin car park on the west side gets you up without stairs. At the top are the main hall, rebuilt in 1985, and a five-storey pagoda rebuilt in 2009, 134 years after the 1875 fire destroyed the old one. The weeping cherry, said to be about 400 years old, flowers at the end of March or in early April, and the town brings in traffic controls for the crowds. The 5:30 morning service in the main hall is open to anyone. Staying at one of the shukubo, temple lodgings on the approach, makes that easy. The ropeway, about 7 minutes, runs to the summit of Mount Minobu at 1,153 m.