Goshuin number 40 is from 富士山小御嶽神社 (Mt. Fuji Komitake Shrine). If you go to the Yoshida fifth station on Mt. Fuji, this shrine is behind the main buildings.

There were lots of tourists crowded around the front of the shrine — not to pray, but instead facing the other direction and taking pictures of the mountain. I’m sure I ruined many a picture as I walked through them. The inside of the shrine was packed as well. Again, not to pray. Nobody prayed. Everyone was in front of the charms and amulets, shoving others out of the way to grab them, and roughly throwing them back when they decided they didn’t want them.

When I got my stamp, the man writing them seemed to breathe easier when I spoke to him in Japanese.

Next to the main shrine was a smaller building, another shrine. A man was standing in front of this one doing prostrations, and others stood around him reading sutras.

Date acquired: November 17, 2018