Aomori, the northernmost prefecture of Japan's Honshu main island, has a number of enigmatic places that feel a world apart. On Journeys in Japan poet Arthur Binard explores the area's sacred spots. He passes through more than 200 torii gates leading to a Shinto shrine, encounters fantastically-shaped giant rocks, and visits a sacred borderline of this life and the afterlife, as well as a temple with 2,000 stone Jizo statues. He discovers the mysterious traditions of Aomori.

Since ancient times, people in Japan have felt a profound veneration for the bedrock of their land. Quarried and mined, this rock has been skillfully used to create the stone walls of castles and buildings. It is also the base material for statues carved as an expression of religious faith. And in some places, there is a strong belief in the spiritual power of those forms in stone. On this episode of Journeys in Japan, we travel to 4 sites — in Okayama, Tochigi, Oita and Aomori Prefectures — to discover this deep, mysterious relationship.