Standing at the top of the Otoko-zaka slope of Yushima Tenjin, I saw a couple descending the steep slope with difficulty

There is a steep staircase beside the office of Yushima Tenjin shrine. This is Tenjin Otoko-zaka, also called Tenjin Ishizaka. The precincts of Yushima Tenjin are built on the edge of a plateau, which you don't notice when you enter from the Omote-Torii gate. This is why there is a steep staircase on the side of the precincts. A little further down the stairs is Shinobazu Pond, which used to be an inlet of Tokyo Bay in the Jomon period. According to the shrine legend, Yushima Tenjin was founded in 458, so it must have been possible to see Tokyo Bay from its precincts back then.

By the way, some of you may be wondering why there is an Otoko-zaka (otoko means male in Japanese) and not an Onna-zaka (onna means female in Japanese). Don't worry. There is also a female slope, which branches off from the male slope. Generally, the steeper slope is called "Otoko-zaka" and the gentler slope is called "Onna-zaka," and here too, the Otoko-zaka has 38 steps while the Onna-zaka has only 33 steps.

Standing at the top of Otoko-zaka, I looked out over what used to be the sea. Now there were no vestiges of the tide anywhere, and all I could see were buildings. And below me, I could see a couple struggling down the steep slope.

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