Mt. Gokurakuji is located in Hatsukaichi City and is a part of the Seto Inland National Park. Gokurakuji Temple, surrounded by a virgin forest of firs, is on the top of the mountain.

According to the temple's history, when a Buddhist saint, Gyoki, visited Miyajima island in the mid 8th century, he looked at the opposite side of the sea, and found a big shinning cedar on this mountain. He sculpted it to make a Senju Kannon, a Buddha statue with a thousand hands and, built a temple to store this statue which became the temple's principal image.

It is said the present temple's main hall, whose roof was covered with shingles of persimmon trees, was reconstructed by a great warlord, Motonari Mori in 1562, and was repaired several times in the Edo period (1600-1867). The waniguchi (crocodile's mouth) copper gong which has a cast inscription dated 1493 is designated as one of the the prefecture's important cultural assets as well as the temple's main hall. It is believed to have been hanging in the previous main hall.

The area around the summit of the mountain is preserved as a relaxation forest, and there are camping sites and a beautiful pond named Janoike (snake's pond). The view of the Seto Inland Sea from there, needless to say, is breathtaking.

◆Getting there
Take a train west bound on the JR Sanyo Line and get off at Hatsukaichi Station. From the station, turn right and walk along the Sanyo Line for a couple minutes and go over the first crossing. Then go north for about 10 minutes, and cross the Nishi-Hiroshima bypass (Hera No.3 tunnel). Walk further for a couple minutes, and you will find the signboard that reads "極楽寺山憩いの森" which means Mt.Gokurakuji Relaxation Forest on your right. From there it is a 2-hour ascent to the mountain top.

◆Suggested Schedule

Hiroshima Station(8:56)===(Sanyo Line)===Hatsukaichi(9:13)-----Hera--

----Mt.Gokurakuji(12:30-14:30)----Hiroden Rakurakuen Station(16:00)===

===(Hiroden Miyajima Line)===Hiroshima(16:30)