Dec 26, 2012 - 1 min read

Bamboo Forest Trail to Ishite-ji

Teaching us that it's okay to be weird

By Anonymous

Community writer

On the top of the hill is a simple wooden gateway ... but to where?

Bamboo forests are naturally a bit weird

But when they sprout rocks with faces, you know you're in a different sort of zone

The pagoda on the hilltop is another enigma

Consider praying when you get to the top of the stairs

Climb the ladder to enjoy a view over the Ishite River valley

Just avoid the fate of Kewpie-chan—naked, lost and alone in the forest

The path can be hard to follow

...although the way in is clear enough

Ishite-ji in Matsuyama is known as a strange temple. But the area around it is pretty weird too. On the path that leads there from Isaniwa Shrine in Dogo which passes through a bamboo forest, the stones have human faces. The wooden gate amid the bamboo and the lonely pagoda on the hilltop are charmingly bizarre.

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