Twin peaks in Ibaraki Prefecture
Mount Tsukuba rises in Tsukuba City, Ibaraki Prefecture, as twin peaks named Nantaisan and Nyotaisan. It is counted among Japan's Hundred Famous Mountains. The mountain is said to be nicknamed the Purple Peak (紫峰), its forested slopes shifting in hue between morning and evening.
A sacred mountain and its shrine
According to local accounts, Mount Tsukuba has been venerated as a sacred mountain since ancient times, and the mountain itself is treated as a divine body (御神体, an object in which a deity is believed to dwell), so that both peaks remain places of active worship. Tsukuba Shrine stands on the mountain's southern slope, where the mid-mountain hall serves as a worship hall while the main inner shrines sit at the summits of both peaks.
The married deities and the ceremonial gate
The twin peaks are said to each enshrine one of a divine married couple — the male deity Izanagi at Nantaisan and the female deity Izanami at Nyotaisan — and the shrine to be sought out for matchmaking and marital-harmony blessings. The Zuishinmon (随神門, a guarded shrine gate) was built in the late Edo period and forms the ceremonial approach to the mountain.
Winter winds across the plain
According to local accounts, strong, cold, dry northwesterly winter winds known as the Tsukuba oroshi can sweep across the southern Ibaraki plain, bringing noticeably colder and more exposed conditions on and near the mountain.
Getting there and reaching the summit
The fastest rail connection from central Tokyo to the Tsukuba area is the Tsukuba Express line, running from Akihabara Station to Tsukuba Station in a minimum of 45 minutes, so check official information before visiting. The area close to the summit is said to be reachable by either cable car or ropeway, offering an alternative to walking the mountain's maintained hiking courses. The cable car adult round-trip fare is ¥1,070. The ropeway adult round-trip fare is ¥1,300. The cable car child round-trip fare is ¥540. The ropeway child round-trip fare is ¥650.
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