----------------------------------- Alessandro Sun Sep 03, 2006 9:08 am [E] Dewa sanzan, Haguro-san ----------------------------------- Thanks very much for the information about the mummies Sanji, and I'm very happy that even with my bad Japanese, I understood quite well the explanation of the monk over there. 238So, now the third part concerning Haguro-san. After staying at the Shukubo (temple lodging, don’t miss my next mail about that), we began the way up to Haguro-san consisting of a beautiful trek (2446 steps) up the mountain through a forest covered by gorgeous old cedar trees. It is also said that you can find 33 carvings in the steps up the mountain which are said to bring good luck to anyone who finds them. Must be unlucky, because I didn’t fine any, or perhaps was to concentrate on keeping my rhythm and some air in my lungs. As soon as you begin the walk, you’ll find a waterfall and one of the oldest pagoda in Japan At the beginning it’s quite flat and very refreshing to walk 239 244 240 After about 1 hours, 1 hours and a half, we arrived at the top where you can find the temple. This place is quite famous for one reason, it was a kind of secret place where the emperor can hide in case of danger, or send his family over there to be protected, for example during a war. I think also that some mummies can be found in the temple, but we didn’t had access to them. Anyway, when we arrive at the top, I felt something like quietness and happiness at the same time and for me it is one of the few place in the world where you can have this kind of feeling. 241 242 243 That’s all for today, but next part will also be interesting I hope, speaking about fire ceremony in the Shukubo.