Our Prefecture

Mt. Ohmine, which is 1719m above sea level, is located in the southern area of Nara Prefecture. It takes about 3 hours by car from Nara City to get to Dorogawa, the starting point for going up the mountain.

This mountain is well-known as a holy mountain where the Yamabushi (a group of ancient priests) began to train themselves by going up the rugged path while chanting their sutra about 1300 years ago.

This mountainous area including Mt. Ohmine was designated as a World Cultural Heritage. A lot of people go up the mountain in summer, some for religious reasons and others for pleasure.

Women, however, are forbidden to enter this holy mountain because of religious tradition. In Japan, there were other holy mountains where this strict religious restriction was applied, but these days Mt. Ohmine is the only mountain that still maintains this rule.