Photo/Illutration Palanquin bearers carry a shop staff along the approach to Kotohira-gu shrine on Dec. 27 in Kotohira, Kagawa Prefecture. (Setsuko Tachikawa)

KOTOHIRA, Kagawa Prefecture--With the last remaining palanquin bearers retiring soon, visitors to Kotohira-gu shrine here will soon have to climb the 785 steps to the top on their own.

“It's been a fun job,” lamented Fumichika Sugimoto, 69, the oldest of the three active bearers. “Doing it, I've been able to talk with people from all around the nation.”

Sugimoto and the other two, aged 49 and 67, are expected to retire from the physically demanding profession around mid-January.

The popular shrine known as “Konpira-san” sits on the hillside of a mountain.

Facing the prospect of scaling the steps to reach the shrine’s main hall, many worshippers, particularly the elderly, shell out for ride up in a palanquin, which is carried by two bearers.

The palanquins depart from the bottom and finish at the Daimon gate, located at the 365th step from the bottom.

An uphill ride costs 5,300 yen ($49), while a round trip is 6,800 yen.

Since 1970, only one company has operated palanquin rides and it temporarily went out of business for about three years during a recession. But Takehiko Tanaka, 72, revived the popular service in 1983.

After the Seto-Ohashi bridge opened in 1988, palanquin rides became popular and bearers sometimes made 21 round trips a day.

There were as many as 20 or so bearers at one point. But two years ago, the number dropped to three.

Older bearers like Sugimoto have reached the limit of their strength to do a job that requires carrying a palanquin that weighs close to 20 kilograms with a passenger on board and making several round trips a day.

The company, finding it impossible to secure young people to carry on the business, has decided to shut down for good.

“We've been really encouraged by calls and letters from visitors expressing their thanks for the palanquin ride,” Tanaka said.

“If we had the manpower, we could have hung tough and continued the business,” Tanaka added, the regret clear in his voice.

Locals are also mourning the loss of the tradition.

After learning that the rides would soon end for good, one elderly resident who lives near the shrine stopped by to encourage the bearers but couldn't help breaking into tears.

“Half of me feels relieved that I can finally retire,” Sugimoto said. “But the other half will deeply miss this.”