Ankoku-ji (Okinawa)

– Ankoku-ji – 安國寺- Naha(那覇市) – July 26, 2019 After spending a few wonderful few days with the turtles and fish of Akajima, we had only one overnight stay in Naha. This meant only one day to sight-see. My husband and I love going to world heritage sites and I adore castles, so of course we chose Shuri Castle. However, we traveled so far and I was dead set on getting at least one goshuin while we were in Okinawa. Ankoku-ji is only a few minutes walk from the main gates of Shuri-jo. The gate into the shrine is, to…

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Manzoku Inari Jinja

Manzoku Inari Shrine 満足稲荷神社 Kyoto (京都市) May 4, 2019 (Reiwa 1) About Manzoku Inari Shrine Manzoku Inari Shrine is dedicated to Inari and located in the Higashiyama part of Kyoto. It is said that Toyotomi Hideyoshi prayed here. My Visit It was a hot day in May and I was in the area for the Zen Nihon Iaido Renmei Zenkoku Taikai at Miyako Messe. I dropped by on my way to the station to go home. Links Homepage (JP) Location

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Daijobo

Daijobo 大乗坊 Osaka (大阪) May 1, 2019 About Daijobo Daijobo is a Mt Koya Shingon sect shrine in Osaka. Originally called Shinbo, it was a sub-temple of Korozan Homan-ji My Visit I stopped by quickly because it’s part of the 7 Gods of Fortune Meguri. It’s a very small, unassuming temple. Other goshuin in Osaka. Links Omairi (JP) Location of Daijobo

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Hida Kokubun-ji

Hida Kokubun-ji 飛騨国分寺 Takayama (高山市) March 26, 2019 (Heisei 31) About Hida Kokubun-ji Hida Kokubun-ji is a Koya Shingon-shu temple in Takayama that was established by Emperor Shomu in the Nara period, making it the oldest stucture in the city. It features a lovely pagoda, a gingko tree that’s at least 1200 years old, and the old bell tower gates from that formerly adorned Takayama Castle. My Visit Links Homepage (JP) Omairi (JP) Location

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Takayama Zenko-ji

Takayama Zenko-ji 高山善光寺 Takayama (高山市) March 26, 2019 (Heisei 31) About Takayama Zenko-ji Takayama Zenko-ji, the actual name is Zenko-ji Daihongan Hida Betsuin, is a temple in Takayama in the Hida part of Gifu Prefecture. It’s a fairly large temple and they also have overnight temple experience packages. It is a branch temple of Shinshu Zenko-ji in Nagano. Links Homepage (JP) Omairi (JP) Location

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Takayama Betsuin Shorenji

Takayama Betsuin 古井神社 Takayama (高山市) March 24, 2019 Takayama Betsuin Shorenji is a splendid Jodo Shinshuu Otani sect temple in the scenic town of Takayama in Gifu Prefecture. Jodo Shinshuu is by far the most common kind of Buddhism in the Hida area of northern Gifu. The text in the center reads “Kueissho”, a phrase in Japanese Buddhism meaning that everyone will meet again in the Pure Land. As we drove up this chilly morning in March, we passed piles of snow on the side of the tollway before flurries started falling. Most of Japan was already warming up and…

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Inuyama Naritasan

– Inuyama Naritasan – 犬山成田山 – Inuyama(犬山) – January 6, 2019 Inuyama Naritasan is a branch temple of Naritasan Temple near Narita Airport in Chiba. It’s located in the northern part of Inuyama near Inuyama Castle and the Kiso River. From the top, you can see  a stunning view of the castle with the river in the background. One thing you notice upon entering is the size of the parking lot. There are two reasons for this. One is that in this part of Japan, most people drive. The second is that Naritasan is particularly famous for car protection charms…

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