The Chūgoku Nature Trail: Kawadoko to Ikkōganaru Trail Map Guide
The section of trail beginning at Ikkōganaru Campground and ending at Kawadoko is about 9 kilometers in length. It takes hikers through several of Mt. Daisen’s most scenic areas and also traverses part of the historic Kawadoko Road. About 1 kilometer down the trail is the Daisen Falls suspension bridge, built in 1977. Below the bridge, accessible by a short detour, is Ayugaeri Falls and the Kasechi River. Continuing another kilometer along the main trail, one soon comes to Daisen Falls, a 42-meter tiered waterfall that was included in a list of Japan’s top 100 waterfalls compiled by the Japanese government in 1990.
Around Ōyasumi Pass, the trail runs through a section of primeval forest composed mainly of Japanese beech. Most of Daisen’s wildlife, particularly its birds, live within this specialized ecosystem, which covers the mountain at elevations of 800 to 1,400 meters.
Along the trail, some areas are paved with cobblestones. These are remnants of the old Kawadoko Road, one of four former approaches to Daisenji Temple. While the cobblestones date to the mid-nineteenth century, the Kawadoko Road itself is much older, built during the early Heian period (794–1185) to connect the temple on Mt. Mitoku (east of Kurayoshi) to Daisenji Temple. At the time, both temples were maintained by practitioners of Shugendō, a sect of Esoteric Buddhism, and were closed to non-initiates. After control of Daisenji Temple was transferred to the Tendai sect, by the sixteenth century Daisenji welcomed a constant flow of not just pilgrims and local worshippers, but also vendors bringing animals to the mountain’s livestock market. This section of the trail ends at Kawadoko and the Amida River, where there is a small parking area.
