Kotohira-gu Shrine

Before you go

• Strollers cannot be used on the approach: it is 785 stone steps to the main hall, 1,368 to the inner shrine (Okusha), with no ramps, so bring a baby carrier. One mother found no set place around the approach to leave her stroller: the tourist information center was reluctant and asked her to be back within 2 to 3 hours, so she declined, and an attendant at a 500-yen-a-day parking lot kindly kept it for free.
• Going down needs more care than going up: the steps vary in height, and the one-way downhill path from the main hall to Asahi-sha, a shrine building at step 628, is steep with no handrail, which one parent found frightening with a baby in a carrier. If the descent looks like too much, the shrine's English guide suggests leaving at a plaza partway down, turning left and walking to town on the smooth, paved Ura-sando back route, which has no steps.
• Allow about 1.5 to 2.5 hours round trip to the main hall including rests, since official pages give anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour one way; the inner shrine adds 583 steps and 30 minutes each way. One adult with two small children took about 3.5 hours round trip to the main hall, including lunch at Kamitsubaki.
• The Daimon gate opens at 6:00 and closes at 18:00, and the main hall's doors are open 7:00 to 17:00; many shops on the approach close before 17:00. The road to the inner shrine is open 9:00 to 16:30 (from 7:00 between July 12 and September 30) and can close without notice in typhoons, heavy rain or strong wind, so check the weather before you go. Crowds are worst on weekends, holidays, cherry and foliage seasons and New Year (at New Year, tens of thousands climb to the main hall), so arrive early in the morning soon after the gate opens.
• Beyond the Daimon gate there are no vending machines and Kamitsubaki is the last place to buy drinks, but it is closed on Tuesdays (except holidays and New Year) and sometimes in bad weather or for yearly maintenance. One family found it sold out of water in summer after emptying their bottles on the way to the inner shrine, so carry your own water.
• If the early steps look like too much, a shuttle takes you to just below the Daimon gate (step 365), carrying you over the steep first stretch (steps 113 to 365) in up to about 10 minutes, and the operator says anyone nervous about the steps, including families with small children, may use it; fares and booking rules differ between sources, so confirm with the operator.
• Without a reservation, cars cannot go up to the shrine, so drivers use a parking lot in town and walk, with car navigation set to "JR Kotohira Station" (Kamitsubaki's own lot at step 500, about 20 cars, is for its cafe-restaurant customers only, with restaurant bookings first; it opens at 9:45 and the gate to the approach unlocks at 10:00). For people who find walking up difficult, you can instead book a drive up near the main hall, from 6 days after you apply up to 60 days ahead; the dedicated parking there is free once the booking is complete (one car for one hour, only one car up at a time, none from December 31 to January 13 or October 8 to 11, and anyone with a reservation may use it). A taxi that does not park needs the reservation too, and cars cannot drive up to the inner shrine. One parent found weekends within a month already full, but weekend slots were still open when booking right after reservations opened (60 days ahead). With a reservation, one parent set the car navigation to Kamitsubaki and gave the booking at the Kamitsubaki parking lot entrance, where they were guided up. A taxi can also take you to Kamitsubaki, leaving 285 steps.