Japan Guide
Northern Honshū
Osore-zan
The main focus of Osore-zan, an extinct volcano consisting of several peaks, lies about halfway up its eastern slopes, where Osorezan-Bodaiji (May– Oct daily 6am–6pm; ¥500) sits on the shore of a silvery crater lake. Though the temple was founded in the ninth century, Osore-zan was already revered in ancient folk religion as a place where dead souls gather, and it's easy to see why – the desolate volcanic landscape, with its yellow- and red-stained soil, multicoloured pools and bubbling, malodorous streams, makes for an unearthly scene.
The temple also receives a steady trickle of non-spectral visitors, while during the summer festival (July 20–24) people arrive in force to contact their ancestors or the recently deceased, through the mediation of itako, usually blind, elderly women who turn a profitable trade. During the open season (May– Oct) four buses a day run up to the temple from Mutsu (May– Oct; 35min; ¥1500 return); the last bus leaves Osore-zan at 5.30pm (3.30pm in Oct).
After a quick look round the temple, take any path leading over the hummock towards the lake's barren foreshore. The little heaps of stones all around are said to be the work of children who died before their parents. They have to wait here, building stupas, which demons gleefully knock over during the night – most people add a pebble or two in passing. Jizō, the guardian deity of children and the Bodhisattva charged with leading people to the Buddhist Western Paradise, also comes along to scare away the demons, though it seems with less success. Sad little statues, touchingly wrapped in towels and bibs, add an even more melancholy note to the scene. Many have offerings piled in front of them: bunches of flowers, furry toys – faded and rain-sodden by the end of summer – and plastic windmills whispering to each other in the wind.
Three times a day (6.30am, 11am & 2pm) the sound of chanting from services at Bodaiji echoes over the rocks, and the temple also offers decent accommodation ( 
0175/22-3826, 
22-3402; ¥20000-30000 including meals). For most visitors, however, it's something of a relief to be heading back down to Mutsu, leaving Osore-zan to its wandering souls.