Kotohira-gu Guide 2026: 785-Step Main Shrine, 1,368-Step Inner Shrine and Access

What Are the Must-See Stops on the Kotohira-gu Route? From Step 0 to Step 1,368

Here the stops are listed from the lowest step number to the highest, like a map you can follow on foot. After reading it you will know which step to set as your goal.

For those who want a Kotohira-gu map first, the official website has three resources you can save to your phone: “Visitor Guide: Main Shrine Edition” and “Visitor Guide: Inner Shrine Edition” introduce the shrine buildings along the approach in order, and there is also a PDF, “Kotohira-gu Area Transport Guide Map,” that marks the Omotesando steps, the back approach, parking lots and Kamitsubaki (if driving, the official advice is to set your navigation destination to JR Kotohira Station). Memorize the main line as the text map below and you won’t get lost:

• Start of the Omotesando steps (step 1) → from step 113, the steepest section “Ichinosaka”
• Step 365, Daimon gate: the official explanation is that from here it is sacred ground, and behind the gate is a roughly 150-meter stone path, “Sakura Baba”
• Along Sakura Baba: the Treasure House, the Takahashi Yuichi Museum, the Shoin (Omote Shoin) and the underground Shiseido cafe “Kamitsubaki”
• Step 628, Asahisha → Sakaki Gate → the final 133 steps, “Gozen Yondan-zaka”
• Step 785, the Main Shrine (251 meters above sea level); the official site says it takes about 1 hour one way from step 1 to the Main Shrine
• From the torii beside the observation deck on the right of the Main Shrine, continue about 1.2 kilometers and 583 steps → step 1,368, the Inner Shrine (Izutama Shrine, 421 meters above sea level)

Step 0, Omotesando: Borrow a Walking Stick Before You Start

The steps begin at the end of the Omotesando shopping street. The shops on both sides sell udon, Japanese sweets, uchiwa fans and all kinds of souvenirs, and are also where you get a bamboo walking stick. Most lend them free or for a few coins, and when you return it you can pop in and buy something.

Strongly recommended: take one. Kotohira-gu’s steps vary in height and some sections are steep, and the load on your knees on the way down is actually greater than on the way up, so a stick makes it much easier. The steps are also very slippery in rain, so grip on your soles matters more than anything.

Step 365, Daimon Gate and the Five Families: Where You Truly Enter Sacred Ground

At step 365 you reach a two-story gate, the “Daimon,” and passing through it you officially enter the shrine grounds. Not far beyond it is one of Kotohira-gu’s most distinctive sights: stalls under five big white umbrellas, all selling the same yellow malt candy, “Kamiyo Ame.”

Five families, the “Gonin Hyakusho” (Five Farmers), are the only licensed vendors within the grounds. They are said to descend from a hereditary shrine-service grant. The candy has a yuzu aroma, comes with a mallet to break it yourself, and makes a memorable souvenir.

Step 431, Kamitsubaki: The Shiseido Cafe Halfway Up the Stairs

“Kamitsubaki” beside step 431 is a cafe run by Shiseido, placed right where stamina starts to fade, arguably the most cleverly sited shop on the whole approach. The name comes from the nearby camellia grove, and the interior is bright with greenery outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Its signature items are limited-edition parfaits and drinks, and it also serves light meals, with a formal restaurant on the basement floor. The contrast of sitting down to ice cream halfway up the stairs is what many people remember most. Opening hours and closing days follow the shop’s announcements on the day.

Step 477, Omote Shoin: Maruyama Okyo’s Sliding Door Paintings Are Here

The Omote Shoin at step 477, a nationally designated Important Cultural Property, draws visitors with sliding-door paintings by Edo-period painter Maruyama Okyo. The tigers in its “Tiger Room,” with their subtle expressions, are especially famous. Okyo is said never to have seen a real tiger and painted them from pelts.

The Shoin charges a separate admission, and photography is not allowed inside. If you are interested in Japanese painting or architecture, it is the most worthwhile indoor space in the grounds. If you are short on time, you can skip it and keep climbing. Opening hours and admission follow the shrine’s announcements on the day.

Step 628, Asahisha: An Important Cultural Property So Grand It Is Often Mistaken for the Main Shrine

Asahisha at step 628 is a huge two-story wooden building, its eaves densely covered with carvings of flowers, birds and people, awe-inspiring, and designated a national Important Cultural Property. It is so grand that visitors have long mistaken it for the Main Shrine.

By tradition, on the way up you should pass Asahisha and continue to the Main Shrine, and pay your respects at Asahisha on the way back down. It is also a breather before the last steep slope, with the “Gozen Yondan-zaka” leading to the 785-step Main Shrine ahead.

Step 785, the Main Shrine: The Sanuki Plain and Sanuki Fuji at a Glance

You reach the Main Shrine at step 785 after the last four steep slopes. Its building stands on a raised platform with a thick shimenawa rope under the eaves, creating a solemn atmosphere. Omononushi-no-Kami is famous as the sea guardian, so the grounds hold many offerings of anchors, rudders and ship models. The Main Shrine is reached at step 785, after the last four steep slopes.

The observation deck beside the Main Shrine has the best view of the whole walk. On a clear day you can see the whole Sanuki Plain and the rounded Mount Iino (Sanuki Fuji), and farther off toward the Seto Inland Sea. The amulet office is right next to it, and the omamori charms are all obtained here.

Beside the Main Shrine, Mihotsuhime Shrine: Another Often-Overlooked Shrine Building

Beside the Main Shrine stands Mihotsuhime Shrine, which enshrines Mihotsuhime-no-Kami, consort of Omononushi-no-Kami. Most people rush to see the view and buy omamori at the Main Shrine, then miss it entirely. Its building is exquisite, and the atmosphere is far quieter than in front of the Main Shrine.

You pass it on the way from the Main Shrine to the Inner Shrine, and it is easy to find. If you plan to continue to step 1,368, it makes a good place to catch your breath and drink water. If you plan to turn back here, it is worth a look before heading down, and it costs only a few minutes. The surroundings are densely shaded, so a short stay here feels noticeably cooler in summer.

Step 1,368, the Inner Shrine (Izutama Shrine): Tengu Reliefs on the Rock Wall

About thirty minutes’ walk further up from the Main Shrine, through a forest path with almost no shops, you reach the 1,368-step Inner Shrine, Izutama Shrine. This section is not the steepest, but it is long and the surface is less even, so the importance of good shoes becomes fully apparent.

The Inner Shrine’s most famous sight is the huge rock wall beside the shrine building, carved with reliefs of tengu and karasu-tengu. Looking down from in front of the shrine, the view is more open than at the Main Shrine. It is also the quietest place on the mountain, with clearly far fewer people.

The Konpira Dog on the Approach: The Edo-Period Dog Who Prayed for His Owner

Along the approach you will see a bronze statue of a dog carrying a small bag, called the “Konpira Inu.” In the Edo period, the journey to Kotohira-gu was long, and people who could not go in person would hang offering money and feed on a dog and entrust it to walk to Kotohira with other pilgrims.

Travelers took turns caring for the dog, feeding it and taking it along, until someone brought it to the shrine to complete its owner’s prayer. This gentle legend is Kotohira-gu’s most beloved story and inspired Konpira dog omamori and related goods.

Old Konpira Grand Theater (Kanamaruza): Japan’s Oldest Surviving Kabuki Theater

Kanamaruza was built around 1835 and is Japan’s oldest surviving kabuki theater, designated a national Important Cultural Property. Outside performance periods you can buy a ticket to go inside and freely walk onto the stage, the hanamichi walkway and even the underground mechanism space.

The most interesting parts are the stage mechanisms run entirely by human power, the revolving stage “mawari-butai” and the lift “seri,” and guides explain how people pushed them from below in those days. Every spring the Shikoku Konpira Kabuki Grand Theater is still held here.

High Lantern and Sayabashi: Two Easily Missed Cultural Properties in Kotohira

The high lantern is near Kotoden Kotohira Station and stands 27.6 meters tall, Japan’s tallest wooden lantern, taking several years to complete in the late Edo period. It was originally meant to let ships sailing far offshore of Marugame see the direction of Kotohira-gu, and it is still lit today.

The other is “Sayabashi,” a bridge over the Kanakura River with a roof but no piers beneath, a rare design that is also designated a cultural property. It is normally closed to passage and mainly used during festivals, but taking photos from the bank is no problem.

Kinryo no Sato and Nakano Udon School: Two Experiences on the Approach

“Kinryo no Sato” on the Omotesando is a museum set up by a long-established local sake brewery, displaying Edo-period brewing tools and the brewing process. The free area alone is well worth seeing, and you can taste and buy sake, with the big camphor tree at the entrance as a landmark.

Nakano Udon School lets you knead, stomp and cut noodles to make your own bowl of Sanuki udon and earn a completion certificate, especially suited to families and groups. Reservations are needed in advance; details and prices follow the shop’s announcements.