Discover Sera: Pilgrimage Route and Temple History

In Sera, protected woodland landscapes meet temple history and a pilgrimage route. If you like to choose between nature, religious sites and traces of the past on your trip, you’ll find a range of points of interest here: ancient cedars and deciduous forests, sites around 今高野山, and insights into the history of 大田庄. Getting there is also straightforward to plan: 今高野山 is about a five-minute walk from the 甲山営業所 bus stop.

Woodland landscape with ancient cedars

The 今高野山緑地環境保全地域 in 甲山 covers 20.47 hectares. The protected landscape around 龍華寺 features groups of ancient cedars with a diameter at breast height of more than one metre. There are also stands of evergreen oaks and deciduous forests, including elms, keyaki and Japanese hornbeams. The variety of tree species and the impressive size of the cedars give the landscape a distinctive character.

If you’d like to combine nature and culture on your trip, you can make the woodland landscape a focus in its own right, alongside the religious and historical sites. The 八十八ヶ所巡り遊歩道 offers a walking and pilgrimage circuit in the area around the historic site of 今高野山. You can make the walk the focus of your visit or plan your stay more around temple history and cultural properties.

Temples, cultural properties and history

According to tradition, 今高野山 is a Buddhist sacred site founded by 弘法大師空海 in 822. In 2022, the site marked the 1,200th anniversary of its founding. 龍華寺 is also associated with a historical tradition: the temple is said to have been founded by 弘法大師 during the Heian period. These accounts give the two sites distinct historical points of reference without treating their respective traditions as one and the same.

丹生神社 houses a 獅子頭 from the Kamakura period, designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The medieval castle site 今高野山城 is also located near the destination. Its features include the striking rock カブト岩, also known as エボシ岩, several levels of 貼郭 and smaller 帯郭. If you’re interested in historic sites, you can also explore the architectural features of a medieval castle alongside the religious sites.

大田庄歴史館 is located at the foot of 今高野山 in 甲山. It preserves many materials and cultural properties relating to the rise and decline of 大田庄. This adds another historical focus to the area’s religious traditions and its artefacts from the Kamakura period.

Walks and special events

The 八十八ヶ所巡り遊歩道 is one way to experience the area around the historic site as a walking and pilgrimage circuit. On April 20, 龍華寺 holds a fire-walking Goma ritual attended by many worshippers. On August 20, two standing statues of the Eleven-Headed Kannon from the Heian period are displayed to the public there; this occasion also draws many worshippers. The two events differ in both their proceedings and their religious purpose.

Getting there and choosing a place to stay

To get to 今高野山, you can use the 甲山営業所 bus stop as a reference point: it’s about a five-minute walk from there. The ピースライナー express bus runs from Hiroshima, while a local bus runs from Onomichi. Visitors can also use the free 今高野山観光客駐車場, which has space for 33 cars and 2 buses. This information can help you plan your trip by bus or car.

A café adds a culinary stop to your visit: 雪月風花 福智院 is housed in a restored inn from the Edo period and serves Japanese tea and traditional Japanese sweets after a walk. When looking for a holiday rental in Sera, consider whether you want your trip to focus mainly on the pilgrimage route and temple history, the protected landscape or the historic artefacts. This helps you choose a place to stay that suits your plans, without combining the different experiences into a single itinerary.

Discover more places

Discover Fukuyama, Higashihiroshima, Mihara, Fuchū, Hiroshima, Onomichi, Kurogawa and Kure too.

For the broader travel overview: Hiroshima Prefecture.