At the start of this stage, you walk up. As soon as you begin to see the road, you will encounter the Minojii, a demon with the appearance of a gigantic baby. They tend to appear in groups of two or three. It is best to remove them before scrolling the screen forward. While the Minojii attack you from above, it is not uncommon for many Garakotsu zombies to chase you from behind.
After a short while, the Rin Rin will also begin to confront you. The Rin Rin advance a short distance, and then throw projectiles at you. It is best if you can defeat them before they attack you, but if they happen to throw their weapon, you can cancel the projectiles with your Ofuda talisman.
After walking a good distance, you will see a lantern to the left of a short path with a statue on the right end. (This is found immediately before the upward scrolling ends and the left scrolling begins). If you shoot the ground below the statue, you will reveal a blue crystal. Collect it carefully, so as not to get trapped in the alley.
After you walk up between the walls, the stage will start scrolling to the left. You will see a well on the bottom, and a hut containing an Ogei (neck girl). There are a line of statues along the top of the screen. It is actually a safer strategy to walk above the statues in order to avoid getting attacked by the Ogei. As you do, fire your Ofuda down and to the left. You should be able to defeat a group of Otama that fly on to the screen.
Shortly thereafter, the screen stops scrolling left, and starts scrolling down. You will reach another hut with an Ogei inside. The key for the stage boss is located directly below the hut. Carefully defeat the Ogei before attempting to collect the key.
Below the hut, you will encounter your first group of Nyoro Nyoro, or spirit snakes. They are easily defeated, but make sure you don't let one slip by, as they can reach you rather quickly. Nyoro Nyoro will chase Sayo back down the screen if given the chance. You will pass another well along the way, so be prepared to fend off any Bake Uri attacks as they fly out of the well.
Of even greater concern is the fact that the Puka Pukas you encounter from this point on will fire projectiles at you. And unlike the Rin Rin, you cannot cancel their projectiles with your Ofuda. The other problem is that by the time the Puka Pukas fire at you, it is often too late to dodge the projectile and move to safety. If you are off to one side of the screen, it becomes even more difficult to dodge the shots if you are pinned against the wall. Fire continuously down the center of the screen to destroy a majority of the enemies you face, and shoot diagonally to pick off the stragglers that get by. If necessary, stop moving forward for a moment to get the screen under control, and resume advancing when the screen is clear of enemies (except for Garakotsu).
If you truly feel overwhelmed, or that contact with the enemy or one of their projectiles is imminent, you can utilize one of the crystals that you've collected. This can substantially reduce the effort required to reach the boss by walking down the remaining stretch of this stage. However, it is a good idea to preserve the crystals, and try to save them for later stages.
Boss[edit]
The boss of the third stage is a Senzan, which roughly translates as a mountain wizard. It has two attacks. From its nose, it attacks by sending forth a blast of flame straight down. From its hands, it sends a blast of wind in a diagonal direction which will shove Sayo-chan into a wall if it catches her. It uses which ever hand Sayo is nearest to attack with.
When you face Senzan, you should always aim to shoot at either of his clogs. This should keep you off-center enough to avoid getting hit by the flame attack, but not so far outside that you can get hit by the wind attacks that he sends. Always stay below him, do not attempt to get above him, or he will surely catch you. Even if you beat the game and manage to get back around and face him the second time, you will not need to find a new strategy, as the original one will work again.
The god that you rescue from Senzan is Ebisu. Ebisu is the patron of fishermen and favours them with a good catch. He also ensures safe journeys for all seafarers since he himself arrived into Japan from the sea. In the countryside, he is considered a guardian of the rice fields and agriculture in general. Land merchants, caterers, farmers and other tradesmen have adopted Ebisu for prosperity in return for their hard work. All this makes him the most popular of the seven gods.