IBARAKI Secret lives & sacred mountains

From ancient shrines and mountain trails to cooking classes with charismatic locals, travelling through Ibaraki gives adventurous visitors an authentic taste of Japan.

- Charlotte Wigram-Evans

T he priestess sways slowly. She pirouettes and curtsies, her arms circling high above her head before sweeping low to brush the floor. Her head is bowed, her eyes half closed, a slight smile plays at the corners of her mouth. She's dancing for the gods.

Oiwa Shrine sits cocooned in maples on Mount Oiwa, said to be the oldest sacred mountain in the former province of Hitachi (now Ibaraki Prefecture). More than 500 million years of history is written in the rocks beneath our feet, and pilgrims have made journeys here for around 3,000 years. After the priestess makes her final bow and leads us outside, she explains that 188 gods call this place home. "They live in the rocks, the water, the trees, the flowers. Can you feel them?" Gazing around, I think I can. Centuriesold cedars soar skywards, tiny streams tinkle into forest pools and sunlight glances through the canopy to fall on moss so thick it feels like carpet. The silence is profound; the slice of a butterfly's wings sends a shiver down my spine and a dragonfly lands beside me with an almost drum-like thud. There's magic in the air.

Although less than a two-hour train hop from Tokyo, Ibaraki is a region much less touched by the modern world and far from most travellers' paths. So I'm here to seek an insight into the secrets of this secluded place and the people who call it home.