Nagano - Togakushi Shrines

On this hike I visited four of the shrines in the Togakushi area, though two are actually adjacent.
I reached Togakushi with the Alpine Express bus, which leaves Nagano station at bus stop 7: this is on the other side of the road from the station. I bought a reserved seat on the both for both outward and inward journeys. That required me to estimate how much time I needed for the hike, and it took me a bit longer than I had anticipated since there were so many things to photograph on the way. I alighted the bus at Togakushi Hokosha at 09:38 and was able to catch the return bus from Togakushi Chusha at 15:07. I think I arrived at the bus stop with 15 minutes to spare.
The hike begins in earnest with a climb up steps to visit the Hokosha Shrine, which is not all that large. It was then a pleasant stroll up a wide path to reach the Chusha shrine. Again climbing steps was the order of the day to reach this shrine, which is currently having some work done on its exterior.
It was then out of the village along a quiet path to continue the hike in countryside. At a junction, I went left instead of right. This was actually serendipity as I found a small statue complex that I was able to photograph in good light; I later passed that complex toward the end of my hike, but the light had gone.
I found the correct path, which brought me to a road. Further down this road was another religious complex with a stupa dedicated to all those who had died in wars. I continued down the road and eventually came to the broad and straight path that leads to the highest shrine.
There is a large Torii Gate to pass through and the path is between huge Japanese cedar trees - this path is really impressive because of them. The path starts to climb, with stone steps, which then become stone rocks requiring more effort. Finally, I reached the Okusha and Kuzuryusha shrines, which are two similar small structures.
From then, I retraced my footsteps and once past the Torii Gate turned right to follow a path that was altogether different. It was flat and along boardwalks or concrete slabs as the ground was quite marshy.
I reached a large Torii Gate complex: in fact two sets, meeting at right-angles. The temple there was small and not open. Sometimes the ground was really quite marshy and a problem where the boardwalks were missing.
I reached a large lake, where I had a brief break to admire the view. Unfortunately, acid rain seems to have caused a lot of the trees to die - a real shame.
The path then changed into a narrow dirt path through trees. There were one or two climbs and descents here as it wove its way around the mountain; these were not that steep, though the fallen leaves made it difficult to see the tree roots on the descents.
I reached another lake, which was more or less obscured by vegetation from the path. There was actually a path leading up to it, but I didn't have the time to visit. I was happy to pass those small statues that I had seen earlier in the day for then I knew that I had almost completed the hike.
Well, so much to see! Lots of different terrain: gravel paths, mud paths, roads, stone stairs. Then the different environments: village, marshland, forest and those magnificent Japanese cedars. Also, a huge workout. The final climb and descents from the top shrine was particularly hard on my thighs. Maybe, it was the altitude, but I had to stop several times on the steps to get my breath. I certainly recommend it, even if you are not that interested in Japanese religion. One thing worth noting is that bears live in that part of the world!