360 Degree Views from Mount Shirataki

 

Mount Shirataki is a 226 meter high mountain in the north of Innoshima Island in the Inland Sea between Hiroshima and Shikoku.

The Murakami, a clan of naval samurai used Innoshima as a base. A fake Murakami pirate castle lies a little further to the south. 

The Murakami erected a Kannon hall on top of the mountain to use as a watchtower overlooking the strait between Innoshima and Mukaijima.

With outcroppings of rock, the site was used by ascetics in their austerities and training and now an observation tower offers 360 degree views over the island and surrounding area

The views truly are 360 degrees and this would be a superb place to spend the night. I have done that several times before on islands in the Inland Sea and it is truly exhilarating to watch the sun set over the islands and then watch the sun rise the next morning.

But this time I was on a schedule and needed to get on to the next pilgrimage temple on the next island.

There are about 700 statues around the mountaintop, and I will cover those in the next two posts....

The previous post was on the Innoshima Sea Festival taking place in the waters below the mountain.