The Tottori prefectural tourism federation gives the peak on Mitokusan as late October to mid-November. The mountain rises to 899.7 metres on the border between Misasa town and the Shikano district of Tottori city, and it is designated both a place of scenic beauty and a historic site. Broadleaf and conifer grow mixed together here, and the forest has been left largely as it was.

The reason the mountain is known beyond the prefecture stands about five hundred metres up the northern face. Nageire-do, the inner hall of the temple Sanbutsu-ji, is built into a hollow in a vertical cliff. It is a national treasure and it has stood through a thousand years of wind and snow, which is easier to believe when you see how little of it touches level ground.

A path runs up from the temple at the foot of the mountain to the hall. It is not a stroll: parts are climbed with chains, other parts are steep enough to need both hands, and walking shoes are the minimum. The conditions are worth checking before you set out rather than at the gate.

In the second half of October the slope fills in around the buildings and the roofs appear and disappear between colour. Much of that is visible from below, looking up from the temple grounds, which is how most visitors see it. Misasa Onsen sits at the foot of the mountain.