If you’re heading to Hinomiko-sha on foot through the precincts of Hōkō-sha, you can also take the path in the forest. It’s considered to be the passageway of the gods. The area where the villagers who built Hōkō-sha found the mysterious mirror is also located on the path. In the past, people who had trouble climbing the mountain or women who weren’t allowed in used to worship Mt. Togakushi here.
You can often hear birds singing on this path. In the early summer morning, the sound of birds echoes so much that people can’t even hear each other. In the early Showa period, the NHK Nagano Broadcasting Station broadcasted live birdsong throughout the nation. A memorial of that also stands here. Back then, when recording technology was underdeveloped, they attempted to broadcast the singing on the radio to an entire country for the first time in history. Togakushi has become known as “Kotori no Sato”, or the village of birds. The road that leads to Togakushi from the central Nagano City has acquired the name “Togakushi Bird Line”. Let us now enjoy this walk in nature, listening to the beautiful singing of the birds.
