yYokai & Mysteryz@ Releasing light into space / Oiwa Shrine (Ibaraki pref.)
There's an anecdote that Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell observed a "shining spot on Earth," and after carefully examining its latitude and longitude, discovered it was the Oiwa Shrine.
Furthermore, Chiaki Mukai, Japan's first female astronaut, also reportedly saw this light from space. This is definitely a place you'll have to visit! @(Nihedon @ KesaranPasaran Lab)
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The "Kabire Shrine," which I (personally) believe emitted light, is located on the mountainside of Mt. Oiwa, about a 40-minute walk from Oiwa Shrine.
It's a bit of a hike, so don't forget your shoes, rain gear, and water.
Incidentally, eating and drinking anything other than water is prohibited on Mt. Oiwa.
This area was a sacred site where Shinto and Buddhism were intertwined, alongside mountain worship, during the Middle Ages.
During the Edo period, the deities of the Dewa Sanzan mountains were invited here, and it was designated as the national peak of the Mito domain.
It was a place where successive generations of Tokugawa shoguns, including Tokugawa Mitsukuni (Mito Koumon), regularly offered prayers.
Don't forget to pay your respects before climbing Mt. Oiwa!
This is the sacred "Three-Branched Cedar."
Its trunk circumference is nine meters, its height is fifty meters, and its estimated age is 600 years.
This giant tree, whose trunk splits into three equal branches from three meters above the ground, forms a sky above the ground, and is a designated natural monument of Ibaraki Prefecture.
It is also the only tree in Ibaraki Prefecture being considered for inclusion in the Forestry Agency's "100 Giant Trees of the Forest" nationwide.
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The enshrined deities are "Amaterasu Omikami", "Ninigi-no-Mikoto", and "Tachihayahi-no-Mikoto".
"Tachihayahi-no-Mikoto" is a deity that appears only in the Hitachi no Kunifudoki (a historical text), and is likely an indigenous deity of this region.
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After another 30 minutes of climbing from "Kabire Shrine," you reach the mountaintop. And a little further down, this rock was enshrined.
Could the light seen from space have originated from this rock?
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This place, which has been a sacred site of worship since ancient times, enshrines as many as 188 gods, and stone statues of them can be found throughout the temple grounds.
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Paintings enshrined in the gate tower (Sun version)
Paintings enshrined in the gate tower (Moonlight version)
The sound of frogs croaking echoed, but we never managed to spot them.
Inside the first torii gate is a wine and coffee shop (where the owner is almost always present). It's really delicious.
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ACCESS :
By car: Approximately 10 minutes by car from Hitachi Chuo Interchange on the Joban Expressway to Oiwa Shrine.
By bus/taxi: Approximately 20 minutes from JR Hitachi Station.
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