One of northern Nagano’s sacred places; Kosuge.

Kosuge is one of northern Nagano’s most sacred places and rich in Buddhist and Shinto history, it was here that En-no-ozuno, the father of Shugendo Buddhism founded a temple in 680 AD where history has unfolded multiple times since.

A visit to Kosuge now includes Nino-torii gate, Kosuge Shrine stone pillars, and beautiful stone steps that you can walk up through an avenue of cedar to the Kosuge Inner Shrine.

The walk up Kosuge as far as the Inner Temple and then back down takes 3 - 4 hours.

The signage on the Kosuge trail is in Japanese only, so please make sure to familiarise yourself with a map before heading up. There’s a couple of junctions where heading one way takes you towards the temple and the other bypasses it and continues further up the mountain towards the ridge. 

At the base of the Kosuge stone steps there’s a lovely Japanese tea house serving coffee, Matcha tea, and local refreshing Soba noodles in a gentle environment. The tea house has toilets for customers out the back also if needed. 

Our Hiking Trails Pty Ltd exclusive Shin-etsu Trail Sections 1-5 Self-Guided Walking Packages plus extra day to explore Kosuge include transfers from your accommodation in Togari Onsen to Kosuge, and drop you near the lower temple area, from where you can walk up to the large timber gates, and up the Kosuge steps. 

Kosuge is a great add-on day to a Shin-etsu Trail walking adventure. 

For more information on Kosuge and it’s historical significance click here.