Osorezan - Mountain of Fear | Linger in the East

What?
Osorezan (恐山) is the combination of a Buddhist temple ground and a volcanic area. While there has not been an eruption for a very long time, the volcano is still active and emitting volcanic gasses. The bizarre atmosphere makes Buddhists believe this is the entrance to the underworld.
Where?
Osorezan is located on the Shimokita Peninsula (下北半島) at the most northern point on Honshu Island in Aomori Prefecture. Getting there takes quite some effort. From Tokyo you have to get off the shinkansen at Hachinohe Station (八戸駅) from where you have another almost 2 hour train ride to Shimokita Station (下北駅). The journey is still not over as you need to transfer to a bus which takes 45 minutes to arrive at Osorezan. And be aware, the bus only runs from May until October as the temple grounds are closed in all other months.
URL
Japan Guide Outline Japan Times Zooming Japan

When on the shinkansen from Tokyo to Aomori, I realized that I might one of the very few people that have ever done the route Antwerp – Mutsu.

Osorezan literally means mountain of fear. While there is indeed the presence of a mountain(ous area), it’s really the Bodaiji Temple and the temple grounds between the foot of the mountain and the shores of Lake Usori that attracts visitors.

Also the word “fear”might not be actually correct. I would describe the whole site rather as “eerie”.

Approaching Bodaiji with a view on Lake Usori.

At the entrance of Bodaiji.

The crows really fit the atmosphere.

Also an abundance of toy windmills.

In very few cases I would consider myself lucky with such a clouded day, the harbinger of a typhoon that was to come. However for Osorezan that might just be the best weather to really immerse yourself in what believers think the entrance to the underworld looks like.

The temple can be reached by bus. On the day I went, this bus was bereft of tourists and strangely looked as though it could be an integral part of the setting of Osorezan – it was that old and creaky. The only other passengers were – and I really don’t want to be rude – elderly people that just might make the trip to the afterlife themselves rather sooner than later.

Once arrived, the strong wind, the few rays of light through an otherwise grey-dominated deck of clouds and the barren volcanic grounds really made me instantly feel very small and very, very quiet. It is very easy to see why this place is considered sacred.
I could have spent hours contemplating life here. I could have spent hours exploring the wide grounds which were full of statues of jizo - guardians of (in Osorezan's case, deceased) children - and other religious, peculiar images.
In hindsight I should have done so. I had enough time, but I was younger, with a jetlag and worried that I wouldn't be able to catch my train to Aomori. But this place deserves a full day. A full, cloudy, windy day.