What Is Mt. Mitoku? The Nageiredo Pilgrimage and the Fire Festival

Published 2026-10-04 · Sources checked 2026-10-04 · Treasure Hunting Co., Ltd.

This guide is for visitors who want to understand Mt. Mitoku and plan a visit to its cliffside hall. It uses the English pages of the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO). All pages were read on 2026-10-04. Fees are not stated on these pages, and conditions on the path change with the weather.

The short answer

Mt. Mitoku, about 900 meters tall, is in the central part of Tottori Prefecture and holds Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple. Its most remarkable part is Nageiredo, a wooden prayer hall built into the mouth of a cave on a sheer cliff. JNTO says it is a national treasure and the only one in Tottori Prefecture. The priests call it "Japan's most dangerous National Treasure", though JNTO adds that the temple itself is not dangerous: the hiking path to it is.

The history

JNTO says Mt. Mitoku has been a place of shugendo, the mountain asceticism combining Buddhism and mountain worship, for more than 1,300 years, and is one of three sacred mountain asceticism sites in Japan. Legend says the monk En no Gyoja threw three lotus petals into the air in the late seventh century, and that one landed at Mt. Mitoku. The pages differ on dates: the Misasa area page says Nageiredo was built in 706, while another page says Sanbutsuji was founded in 706 and that Nageiredo was built about 1,000 years ago. Another JNTO page says the exact construction date is unknown.

The path to Nageiredo

JNTO describes the route in order. From the parking areas and bus stop, climb steep stone stairs to the lower temples, where a small fee is needed to reach the trail head. Behind Sanbutsuji Temple, you must register and pay a fee at the start of the hiking trail. If the tread on your shoes is judged insufficient, you buy straw sandals called waraji. Cotton gloves are optional, and you are given a ceremonial sash to wear. The trail goes over a small bridge and up steep ground with roots and lianas to a ridge, then to Monjudo Temple, reached by chains, where you can remove your shoes and walk the veranda. From there steep ridges and bamboo groves lead to the final turn and Nageiredo.

Rules and conditions

• You cannot climb to the upper temples after snowfall.
• Parts of the mountain cannot be climbed alone. If you travel alone, JNTO says to ask fellow hikers for permission to join them.
• A rental service offers a traditional shugendo outfit; reserve in advance with Sanbutsuji.
• The route is rocky and slippery in places, and chains help over the trickiest sections.

The Mitokusan Fire Festival

JNTO says the festival is held on the last Sunday of October. Monks climb the mountain chanting, to the sound of conch shells, and take part in a ritual called Saito Goma in which wooden sticks with wishes written on them are thrown into an outdoor fire. The highlight is hiwatari, walking barefoot across smouldering charcoal, and the page says the public can join the fire walk on the festival day. We did not find a start time or a fee.

Other trails and views

JNTO names the Misasa Onsen Course, the Oshika Valley Course and the Tawara Highlands Course as other hiking trails on the mountain. From the Monjudo veranda on a clear day you can see the lower slopes of Mt. Daisen and across the sea to the Oki Islands in Shimane Prefecture. A bell weighing two tons can be rung to announce your presence to the mountain gods.

Why people climb it

JNTO says the name Mitoku means the three primary virtues of Buddhism: wisdom, renunciation and judgment, and that a pilgrimage to the mountain is said to purify the six roots of perception: eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body and mind. It adds that the inherent danger of the pilgrimage is an essential part of a visit, because embarking on a hazardous journey is believed to hone the senses, a training called the "Way of the Ascetics". Another JNTO page says that for some adventurous visitors this climb is the highlight of their whole trip.

What we could not verify, and therefore left out

• Admission and registration fees.
• Hours of the trail, and the time needed for the climb.
• The fire festival's start time and the rules for joining the fire walk.
• Whether the Nageiredo was built in 706 or about 1,000 years ago; the pages differ.

Related guides

• How do you get to Misasa Onsen and Mt. Mitoku from Kurayoshi and Osaka?
• What is Misasa Onsen? Radon springs, the white wolf legend and the Kawara bath

Sources

All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.

1. Mitokusan Sanbutsuji Temple (JNTO) — (Nageiredo, history)
2. Mt. Mitoku (JNTO) — (path, rules, view)
3. Spiritual Pilgrimage in Tottori (JNTO) — (shugendo outfit)
4. Japan Festivals in Autumn: Mitokusan Fire Festival (JNTO) — (fire festival, other trails)
5. Misasa (JNTO) — (706)