A Hidden Gem Near Tokyo! Isehara: The Most Japanese Experience of Your Life

Isehara: An Unexplored Area Filled with Tradition Near Tokyo

Isehara is a beautiful city in Tokyo’s neighboring Kanagawa Prefecture. The area is home to luscious nature, majestic mountains, and rich traditions and culture just waiting to be explored.

It is also home to Mt. Oyama, a sacred mountain that many would visit on the pilgrimage route from Tokyo in the Edo Period (1603-1868).

In this article, we’ll explore the culture, food, and history of the Oyama area on the “Time Travel to the Edo Period” tour. The tour is packed to the brim with luxury and tradition, including the high-class bus ride from central Tokyo that takes just one and a half hours.

Tour Day 1: From Busy Shinjuku to Beautiful Oyama - Experience the Local Traditions, Food, and Sake

A Modern-Day Pilgrimage by Bus with a Shinto Priest as Your Guide

Much like it did for the travelers in the Edo Period, the journey begins at Shinjuku Station. Tour participants travel by private chartered bus.

The destination of the pilgrimage is Oyama Afuri Shrine, so travelers of the time would be guided by an Oyama Afuri Shrine priest. In keeping with the format, priest Meguro guides the tour and introduces everyone to Oyama history along the way.

The only difference is that you can recline in a lavish seat on the tour bus, rather than wearing out your feet on the pilgrimage paths!

After an immersive video about the vast nature of Oyama, priest Meguro explains a bit about its history.

Mt. Oyama is to the west of Tokyo, and because clouds flow in from the west, the mountain was often revered as the place that dictates Tokyo’s rainfall, gaining it the nickname of “Amefuri Yama” (lit. rainfall mountain).

Mountains in Japan often have ascribed deities, and the deity of Mt. Oyama is the father of the deity of Mt. Fuji, so there was once a custom of hiking Mt. Oyama and then Mt. Fuji.

But despite Mt. Oyama’s importance in Shintoism, even in the Edo Period, a pilgrimage to Oyama was not just about religion or physical endurance. It was also about sightseeing and entertainment. So, before exiting the bus, everyone is asked to put on a pair of tabi socks, because the first experience in Oyama is all about Noh theater.

Welcome Noh Performance and Matcha Experience

After meeting with your personal interpreter guide for the tour, it’s time to take a seat in front of the Oyama Afuri Shrine Noh Stage, Seiyoden.

On this stage, you will see two performances: a comedic Kyogen performance, and a more somber Noh performance.

Both performances are rhythmic, spoken in a song-like way with exaggerated movements and costumes. During our visit, the Kyogen performance was a piece called “Neongyoku.” It is a comical piece played by just two actors, about a servant who does not want to sing for his master, so asks for continually more ridiculous requests, including copious amounts of alcohol.

The Noh performance we watched, called “Funa Benkei,” tells a story about the hero Minamoto no Yoshitsune being met by a ghost of the opposing Heike clan while at sea.

The ghost is the character wearing a Noh mask, and at the end of the performance, the actor comes on stage with the mask for a photo opportunity – something that you wouldn't be able to enjoy at a regular Noh performance!

Yours truly in a Noh mask
Remember the tabi socks? The reason you are asked to wear those is to step onto the stage yourself, as the stage is a sacred area that requires clean attire to touch it. There, you can try on an ancient Noh mask, try out the special “suri-ashi” slide-walking technique, and learn about the masks and props behind the scenes.

Then it’s time for an entirely different performance, featuring matcha green tea. A temporary stage is set up with seats facing the kimono-clad host, who elegantly mixes and pours each cup of matcha tea for everyone.

When you receive the cup, you should rotate it twice clockwise so that the “face” of the design is turned away from you when you drink, then turn it back counter-clockwise when you’re done.

Visiting Oyama Afuri Shrine on the Mountain

All these performances were simply a warm welcome for the main objective of the pilgrimage – visiting Oyama Afuri Shrine.

To get to the mountaintop, you need to ride the cable car, which is opened after-hours specially for those on this tour.

To make your pilgrimage, you’ll be given a white jacket called a gyoi with your name on it, and an osame-dachi, a wooden longsword for you to bring as an offering to the shrine. The osame-dachi ritual has its origins in a tale about the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147 - 1199) offering a longsword to Oyama Afuri Shrine when he visited it.

The act of visiting Mt. Oyama on this pilgrimage is called Oyama Mairi, and the osame-dachi would be carried as a show of strength from Shinjuku to Mt. Oyama.

After the cable car, there is a set of steps up to the shrine, and everyone will have their mini osame-dachi to carry, but you also have the option to carry the larger version with a group.

After bowing to the shrine, you’ll make your way inside to see the shrine maiden’s dance. This is where you will offer your osame-dachi to the shrine (you’ll receive another later as a souvenir), before receiving a blessing from the shrine maidens and seeing their performance.

A Sake-Pairing Dinner with a View

After all these new experiences, it’s quite likely that you’ll have worked up an appetite by the time the sun sets – we certainly had! So it’s a good thing there’s a restaurant on the mountaintop too.

Each sake is served in a specific glass best suited to its profile

The dinner is an elaborate seven-meal course made with all sorts of local Isehara ingredients. The food is accompanied by Nihonshu (Japanese sake) from all around the country, which has been specially selected to complement each course.

Given that the ingredients are locally sourced, they are also very seasonal. So, the menu is subject to change. But our visit included dishes such as Japanese spiny lobster, Yamayuri beef, Oyama wild game chorizo, and a dessert of monaka pastry filled with Isehara satsuma, bean paste, and tea ice cream.

This was accompanied by a variety of Japanese sake, including an Afuri 2012 Tokuzo Ginjo to go with the meat course, and a Daiginjo to accompany the spiny lobster.

Each dish was explained in English and Japanese by the guides, with each one as delicious and luxurious as the last. The view to accompany the meal has been designated a Michelin Green Guide 2-star Night View, which elevates the entire experience to more than just great food.

Edo-Style Fun on the Old Shrine Road

The fun of the evening doesn’t stop on the mountaintop! After the meal, it’s time to head back down to the Kyu-Sando, meaning the old shrine road.

Here, three inns open their doors for a taste of different types of Oyama culture. One offers sake tasting, another a koma (spinning top) performance, and the last a geisha performance and bar games.

The sake tasting features drinks from the Isehara region, the spinning top performance features an energetic performer with the extravagance of a mini circus act, and the final location is abuzz with excitement and sake.

There, the geisha from Tokyo welcome the group with a shamisen performance and dances, followed by mingling with the group. It is at this point that you can play some of the Edo-style games like hana-fuda and cho-han, luck based games with cards and dice, to win fun prizes.

Call it a Night and Head to Your Shukubo Lodging

Finally, after all that sake, exploring, and general excitement with the group, the last spot of the night is your accommodation.

As part of the tour, everyone stays in their own shukubo. A shukubo is the priest’s quarters where they invite travelers to stay. There, you’ll find welcoming hosts ready to show you to a hot bath and your room.

On our tour, we stayed at Osumi, a lodge with centuries of history. The host showed us around the building, pointing out the many historical items they had collected or been given throughout the years. The walls are plastered with name tags (called senja fuda) from past guests, and the bedroom has a centuries-old tiger design that still remains.

But the most impressive room of all is the shrine itself. The banisters have hidden sword stoppers in case of traitorous attacks, and the old bento box cabinet still stands. This ancient shrine is where you will find yourself in the morning after a cozy night’s sleep.

Tour Day 2: A Morning Prayer and Luxurious Breakfast Before Your Return

Visit the Temple at Sunrise and Watch the Flames of a Gomataki Ritual

Even if you’re feeling a little delicate from the fun of the evening before, it’s time to shake it off with the brisk morning air.

Each lodge will start with a hot drink before you head over to the cable car to Oyama Temple. You don’t need to bring anything with you. It is here that you get a chance to observe the ancient tradition of gomataki.

Gomataki is a type of prayer in Shingon Esoteric Buddhism. Travelers, including yourself, sit in the temple’s main hall while the priest chants a prayer to ward off evil spirits and grant you luck on your journey. During the prayer, a large fire is lit, and the priest will do a form of blessing as you bow your head.

Afterwards, you can explore the rest of the ancient temple which was founded in 755 AD by Roben (689 - 773), the same priest who founded Todaiji Temple in Nara. The stairs up to the temple are lined with statues, and you can even buy small plates to throw away with the idea of letting go of bad luck.

Breakfast and Tradition

The final order of business is to have your last Oyama meal and a final traditional experience. The meal is served in a traditional fashion in an arrangement of small dishes at your lodge.

Oyama is famous for its clear water, which lends itself well to making tofu. So you have the option to make your own tofu before breakfast.

Alternatively, after breakfast, you can try shakyo, a form of calligraphy writing where you copy out Buddhist sutras, putting your heart and soul into each letter.

The breakfast includes a collection of cold and warm dishes, featuring local and seasonal ingredients. On our visit, there was plenty of different tofu dishes, as well as fish, pickled items, and even a matcha dessert.

Return to Tokyo

After saying goodbye to your hosts, you will be provided a taxi to Isehara Station. From there, you can take the Odakyu Romancecar train back to Tokyo, or the Rapid-Express on the Odakyu Line. Both go directly to Shinjuku Station in under an hour, but the Romancecar is a more comfortable experience with reserved forward-facing seats.

Now you can see that we really weren’t exaggerating when we said this would be the most Japanese tour of your life. All that’s left is to figure out the best day to go on this exciting cultural tour to Isehara!

Visit Isehara’s website for more information.

Written by Cassandra Lord
Sponsored by Isehara City