If you follow the mountain trail from the prefectural road toward for about 1 km, on the right side there will be Takiyama and Zao (Takayu) hot springs, while the left side will be divided into the main road climbing Zao from Hozawaguchi.

At this junction, there is a seated statue of Ikiwakare Jizo sitting on a circular seat indicating the first station of the mountain trail.

The name “ikiwakare” comes from the parting road between the Zao climbing road and Takayu Onsen, and it is thought that it is a religious conception of the boundary between the secular world and the spirit world, and between this world and the afterlife.