Mount Iizuna, Stratovolcano in Nagano Prefecture, Japan.
Mount Iizuna is a 1,917-metre stratovolcano in the Iizuna range, within Myōkō-Togakushi Renzan National Park. Its summit, slightly left of centre in the broad rounded profile, is cut by shallow gullies and ridges running down bare grey-brown slopes. A band of dark green trees lines the foot of the mountain.
The mountain was chosen as a competition venue for the 1998 Winter Olympics and later hosted the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Its eastern slopes developed into a ski area afterward.
The mountain is a Shugendo site whose summit shrine honours Iizuna Gongen, and the South Trail passes 13 stone Buddhas beginning with Fudo Myoo. Komainu and torii stand at the trail entrances. The name comes from iizuna, an edible sand-like growth the tengu Saburo was said to hand out in poor harvests.
Hikers can reach the summit via two main routes: the South Trail from Izuna Trailhead or the West Trail from Togakushi Village, with both routes taking about 2.5 hours. Both paths are clearly marked and accessible for different fitness levels.
The name Iizuna comes from iizuna, an edible sand-like mass of fungi and algae known as tengu no mugimeshi (the tengu's barley rice). It once occurred on the mountain but is now thought extinct there; the tengu Saburō was said to hand it out during poor harvests.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,466 contributors worldwide.
