day 3: hike up takaosan (mount takao)

our first free day leaves me gasping for country air, tokyo stimuli swarming me like locust plague - i manage to transport myself two hours from the city and embark on a rigorous hike up a sacred mountain.

 

at the top sits an extensive shinto shrine. the structures seem part and parcel of the mountain.  

women who have lost babies due to still birth or abortion knit clothing for shrine statues to keep them warm at night. the statues, representing gods, protect the souls of the deceased. probably one of the most touching things i experienced.