Retrace your steps to the small shop, where you will turn left to go to Temple 8, SAIZEN-JI 西善寺. You will pass fruit orchards on the left, where one may pick strawberries in hot houses in January and February, and grapes in July and August. Cross the bridge over the Yokoze river and pass under a concrete highway bridge. Keep to the left and at an intersection with a grocery shop turn right, walking under the Seibu Railroad bridge. Soon after crossing a small bridge with black railings, you will find a signpost on the left, which points to Temple 8 札所八番西善寺 at the top of the short uphill.
As you walk up, a torii can be seen a short distance away on your left. Behind it is located Satomiya-jinja, which is the village base of a mountain-top shrine dedicated to the god of Mt. Bukō. On April 15 and October 1, both festival days, kagura shrine dances from the sixteenth century are performed to drum and flute music. At the crest of the hill a charming roofed gate marks the entrance to Saizen-ji situated on a lower ground. A magnificent five-hundred-year-old maple tree spreads its branches, exuberant foliage providing a comfortable shade to pilgrims after their long journey. Wearing a beautiful coat of moss, the tree promises splendid colors in the fall. The main building of the temple is decorated with carved and painted transoms depicting Confucian teachings of filial piety, enhanced by decorative motifs, such as lions and peonies, the crane and pine, chrysanthemums and waves. The inscription is given at another building on the right.
While you wait, notice a pair of stately stone lanterns placed in front of the main building. These have been moved from Zōjō-ji in Shiba, Tokyo, where they used to stand until 1964. Originally they were donated by daimyo lords as offerings on the occasions of memorial services for the Tokugawa shoguns who are buried at the temple. When Seibu Railroad Co. built the Tokyo Prince Hotel, part of the temple compound was included in the hotel premises, and about 600 stone and bronze lanterns needed to be disposed of. Seibu first moved some of them to a park in Higashi Murayama and then gave them to whichever temples in Chichibu were interested in having them. They are all inscribed with a three-leaf crest of the Tokugawas and characters to identify who gave when, to whom. For instance the left-hand lantern (as you face the main building) was given to the sixth shogun Ienobu, whose posthumous name is Bunshō-in 文昭院, in 1712 by Lord Fujiwara Yasukiyo 藤原安清; the right-hand one to the seventh shogun Ietsugu with a posthumous name, Yūshō-in 有章院, in 1716 by Lord Minamoto no Toshioki 源利意. Similar lanterns may be found at Temples 22, 23, 28, 29, and Seiun-ji.
Leaving the temple, walk back to the bridge with black railings and after crossing it, turn left according to the signpost at the fork for Temple 9 and Yokoze Station 札所九番 横瀬駅. After crossing another small bridge, bear right and then turn left, just in front of the elevated Seibu Railroad tracks. At the next intersection, the path continues to the other side of the road, leading toward an elevated highway. At the crest of the path, turn right and stay on the main road, keeping the railroad on your right. For several minutes you must endure the heavy traffic of dumping tracks which serve the two Mitsubishi companies on both your sides. Walking under the railroad tracks, you will arrive at an irregular junction of four streets. If you continue along the road you are on, you will arrive at Yokoze Station of Seibu Railroad. To visit the next temple, bear to the right, in the direction indicated by a brown sign 秩父札所九番明智寺 (a sharper right will take you to the cement factory). Keep to the right and you will soon come to a crossroad at which is situated Temple 9, AKECHI-JI. It is a small temple, which the villagers cooperate in maintaining. They have raised funds for replacing a run-down Kannon hall with the present one, an unusual hexagonal hall and square building.
The Kannon of this temple has a reputation for being especially kind to mothers and children. A festival on January 16, the day to pray for safe childbirth, attracts many female worshippers. This popularity is enhanced by a well-known legend associated with the temple, about a sixteenth-century boy and his blind mother. With no breadwinner in the family, the two lived a hard life, surviving on wild nuts and roots which the little boy gathered in forests. One day during his daily quest, he met an old monk, who taught him two lines of the Kannon sutra that he claimed were effective for healing blindness. The boy and his mother came to this temple and prayed all night to Kannon. At dawn, a dazzling star shone from the altar and touched her head. Miraculously, she opened her eyes and could see. The belief in the power of sincere prayers that this story teaches has been kept alive among villagers, who gather often to observe the various events of the temple calendar.
If you are finished for the day, you can reach Yokoze Station 横瀬駅 according to the signposts. The easiest way might be to backtrack to the irregular crossing and turn right. At the station, two timetables are shown on the wall in Japanese and English. The larger one is for the Red Arrow expresses, many of which stop at this small station. The schedule of local trains is shown above, either for going back to Seibu Chichibu, or, for Hannō where you should transfer to another train for Ikebukuro. You may also walk back to Seibu Chichibu via Route 299 in about 20 minutes.
Time and energy permitting, you may wish to visit two more temples (which will also reduce the remaining itinerary for those desiring to complete the entire pilgrimage). To do so, go left around Temple 9 to Route 299. Cross over to the pink and gray building, which houses the community center. Your direction is to the left. If you wish, a short visit at Yokoze Folk Museum 横瀬民俗博物館 behind the community center might be interesting to learn about life at the foot of Mt. Bukō.
➩ Exhibits include specimens to show amazing varieties of flora and fauna in Mt. Bukō as well as a collection of silk farming and weaving tools used by local farmers. There are also examples of the Yokoze ningyō puppets and a miniature model of the stage. Visitors will be first attracted by the real size replica of a shell for traditional fireworks and an antiquated, deep red inner shrine of the mountain-top sanctum dedicated to the god of Mt. Bukō.
After you cross Route 299 by the community center, turn left (or, coming from the museum, turn right along Route 299). Again, the hissing traffic is such a nuisance, but there is no alternative for the time being. You will pass an elementary school on the right and cross a small bridge. If you wish to spend the night in this neighborhood, there is a ryokan called Bukō-no-yu 武甲乃湯 located along the smaller road to the right of the school. Continue along the highway and, just before a Mitsubishi gas station on the left side of the road, turn right by a beauty parlor. At a four-road crossing with a large black-and-white sign indicating the nearby junior high school 横瀬中学校入ロ, turn left and walk straight. On the right of the road are seen high-voltage electricity towers. When the road meets a larger road, cross over to a smaller road which curves to the right. Keep to the left. The road will turn and lead to a small intersection, where a signpost stands, pointing to the left for Temple 10 札所 10 番. Follow the sign, and you will soon see an old Jizō statue meditating on a high pedestal.
| Suggested Itinerary | |
| 8:30 a.m. | Depart Ikebukuro Station via Red Arrow Express |
| 10:00 | Arrive Seibu Chichibu Station (E: 90 min.) |
| 10:30 | Arrive Temple 1 (E: 30 min.; S: 10 min.) |
| 11:20 | Arrive Temple 2 (E: 40 min.: S: 10 min.) |
| 11:50 | Arrive Kōmyō-ji (E: 20 min.; S: 10 min.) |
| 12:40 p.m. | Arrive Temple 3 (E: 40 min.; S: 10 min.) |