It’s very hot this summer in Japan. The maximum daytime temperature is still over 30 degrees Celsius every day in Tokyo. I evacuated from the city center, and visited Ooyama Mountain in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 60 kilometers southwest of Tokyo.
When I visited there in the middle of August, the Ooyama Lantern Festival was being held. It was one of the events during the “obon” period. “Obon” is a Buddhist festival to recognize ancestral spirits. The souls of the dead are believed to return to their families during the obon period in the middle of August. It’s an occasion for people to visit their ancestors’ graves, temples or shrines to pray. After sunset, Ooyama was decorated with many lanterns and illuminations to response the souls of the dead. The lanterns were very beautiful and mysterious, and reminded visitors of their ancestors.
To get to this holy mountain, a funicular line, Ooyama Sightseeing Electric Railway, is convenient. Connecting Ooyama Cable and Afuri Shrine stations, the route length is 800 meters. The height difference between the highest and lowest points of the route is 278 m. The maximum inclination of the route is 25.5 degrees. The track gauge size is 1,067 millimeters. There is one intermediate station, Ooyamadera, at the mid-point of the line. The present vehicles, named Unit 1 and Unit 2, were commissioned in 2015 to replace the old vehicles, named Tanzawa and Ooyama.
I enjoyed both the unique lantern festival and the funicular on that day on the holy Ooyama Mountain.
