Risshaku-ji Temple (Yamadera)

This is a beautiful site with around 1000 steps to get you to the top where most of the temple is located. The climb in the woods is steep at times but the steps are very well maintained throughout the ascent. We were lucky that the heat of the day was mitigated by quite a few clouds but it can be very humid in the forest. When arriving at the top you will definitely be rewarded by beautiful views and the rest of the temple. This is a stop I would definitely recommend. If you are arriving here with a car you will easily find a lot of parking spots and the cheapest we found was for 300 yen for 24 hours.

We wanted to travel and stay at Yamagata so we could visit this place. There are a few trails but the main one is the best. Didn’t count but understand that there are more than 1000 steps - was hectic going up on such a hot and humid day in July but seen much older people do it gave me the encouragement to keep going. Plenty of nice restaurants near the bottom. Be aware that the train is once an hour so if you miss it - you will be waiting . Highly recommend this place

Hiked ~1000 steps to the Yamadera temple. Honestly can be done in less than 40 min (there and back) with mini breaks in between. The main temple at the end was a bit underwhelming, but the photos of the smaller temple on the way were nice. Paid Y300 per person for entrance. And one tip on parking, there are free parking spaces ~200m away from the entrance of the steps, but in obscure places. So you may not need to pay the usual Y500 for a full day parking if you are lucky.

Beautiful. You will climb up 1085 steps up, so be prepared. I came in early, so there were not many people, but the elderly who climbed up with me taught me what to do in some temples and shrines. There is also an admission fee to go up. Amulets and other things are also sold at the top and downstairs.

A nice walk up the 1000-ish steps to the temple on the top of the cliff. Not that difficult if you have done your regular exercise but my wife needs a few stops along the way.