A visit to the Kokeizan Eihoji Temple

Few months back, we visited the Kokeizan Eihoji Temple. The temple is located in Tajimi City in Gifu Prefecture. 

The Temple was founded in 1313 and belongs to the Nanzen-ji branch of Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The temple, its grounds and several structures on the grounds have been designated National Treasures. At one time the temple complex consisted of about 30 structures but a few remain now.

The Zen garden is especially beautiful and include a pond, a bridge and a waterfall. 

The buildings are an interesting combination of Chinese and Japanese architecture. 

The main building, the Hondo with its stone lanterns is an impressive sight.

The original Hondo was destroyed in a fire in the Sengoku Period.  

The Musaibashi Bridge is the main attraction of the temple. 

The bridge is built over a pond filled with colorful carp.

It is believed that crossing the bridge symbolizes travelling to a place of enlightenment. 

Once you crossover, you are not supposed to walk back, but walk around it. 

The garden is a popular Momijigari or Autumn Leaf Viewing spot. No wonder the garden is designated as a place of National Scenic Beauty.

The Kannon Do hall is located across the Musaibashi Bridge. Kannon Do,one of the National Treasures is famous for its Zen architecture. A statue of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy is enshrined withn the building.

Kaisan-do, the other National Treasure houses the Kenpon Choshoku Senju Kannonzo, a silk fabric with a rendition of the Thousand Armed Kannon and calligraphy by the founding priests of the Kokeizan Eihoji Temple.

A 700 year old Gingko tree planted by the founder of the temple stands on the temple grounds. 

A wooden pagoda stands at one end of the Garden.  

On our way to the Kokeizan Eihoji temple we stopped at the Hojuin Temple. 

The temple is a subsidiary of the Kokeizan Eihoji temple. The  vermillion colored gate is impressive.

 It also has a small rock garden. 

Few other temples that we passed by on our way to the temple.

Address: Gifu Prefecture, 507-0014, Tajimi Shi, Kokeizan cho 1-40

Phone No: 0572-22-0351

Entrance  Fees: Free

Opening Hours: 5:00 am to 5:00 pm

Parking: Free Parking Available near the railway crossing. The temple is a 5-7 minute walk from the parking lot. 

Website: Click here (Japanese only)

Autumn foliage at Ooidaira Koen

After visiting Obara to view the Shikizakura, we drove a little further to Ooidaira Koen, which is also known for its Autumn foliage.

The foliage was its peak and we enjoyed some beautiful sights. 

Free Parking is available across the road near the wooden bridge.

Donguri no Sato-Inabu is a popular roadside station where visitors can shop for local produce, sample seasonal delicacies and even soak in an onsen. 

Address: Aichi Prefecture, Toyota shi, Inabu-cho, Ooidaira 5-1 

Parking: Free Parking available

Entrance fees: Free

Visiting Obara : Cherry Blossoms in Autumn

Frankly speaking I am not sure how to classify this post - Hanami or Momijigari. To put it simply, Hanami is Blossom Viewing, a popular activity in spring  and Momijigari is Foliage viewing, a popular activity in autumn. Confusing isn't it? Read on !

Of the 100 odd varieties of Cherry Blossoms in Japan, one variety blooms twice in Spring and again in Autumn. Not a commonly found variety, this kind of Cherry blossom is called Shikizakura or 4 season Cherry Blossom. Since it starts blooming somewhere around October, it is also called as Jugatsuzakura- simply translated to October Cherry Blossom ! 

There are very few places in Japan where visitors can view both Cherry blossoms and Autumn Foliage at the same time. We visited one such place last weekend. 

Obara is a town forming part of Toyota city in Aichi prefecture and is roughly an hour's drive from Nagoya city. Obara is well known for its widespread Shikizakura trees- numbering about 10000 ! 

The white cherry blossoms against the backdrop of red maple leaves are a sight to see. 

No wonder Obara attracts lots of tourists during the month of November. 

Obara Fureai Park and Senmizakura Koen are the two popular spots to view the best Shikizakura and Momiji in Obara. 

Address: Aichi Prefecture 470-0531, Toyota shi, Obara cho. Obara Fureai Koen

Phone: 0565-65-3808

Parking; Paid parking available near Obara Fureai Park

Obara Tourism Website  (English) : Click here 

Autumn at Seto's Iwayado Park

In Autumn 2013, I visited the Iwayado Park in Seto in the evening with my family, to view the Night Illumination. It was a spectacular ! I was wondering how the place looks during daylight. So this year when my friend invited a group of us to go for a Foliage Viewing trip during the daytime, I joined them. 

We had a pleasant walk along the river and passed by a waterfall and some colorful carpets of fallen leaves.

It was already past the peak foliage time and the leaves were already falling off. Maybe we should have made the trip a week earlier.

But it was not totally disappointing. 

Personally I feel the night light-up is more spectacular. Check out the Night Light-up pictures from 2013 - Click here. The post also has more information about the park. 

After our leisurely walk, we ate lunch at the Unagi No Yasuji restaurant near the entrance to the Iwayado Park. The restaurant specialises in Unagi - Japanese eel. This is what my lunch looked like. 

I must say this was one of the best Unagi I have eaten in Japan.  

Address: Aichi Prefecture, 480-1215 , Seto shi, Iwayacho 

Entrance fees: Free

Parking: Free parking available for 100 units. Paid parking also available for 500 yen.

Peak Period : Early to end November ; (Exact period differs each year)

Night Illumination - Limited period - 5.30 pm to 9.00 pm 

Phone No of Unagi no Yasuji Restaurant : 0561-42-0884

The Great Buddha of Gifu

On our recent visit to Gifu castle, we visited the Shoho-ji Temple. The Shohoji temple is a five minute walk from the Gifu Park, the starting point for the hike or ropeway trip to Mt Kinka. 

The Shohoji Temple is a Buddhist Temple affiliated to the Ohbakusan Manpukuji Temple in Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture. The Official name of the temple is Kinpouzan Shohoji. The temple houses the 13.63 meter tall statue of Amida Nyorai or the Great Buddha. 

The Buddha statue is one of the three Great Buddhas' (Daibutsu) of Japan  alongwith the Great Buddha of Nara and the Great Buddha of Kamakura. While the Daibutsus' of Nara and Kamakura are made of metal, the Daibutsu of Gifu is made of wood and coated clay and then covered with  several layers of lacquer and gold leaf. 

Priest Ichyuu, the 11th generation priest of the temple a devout believer of the Great Buddha of Todaiji, Nara and as such he hoped to erect a large image of the Buddha to pray for protection from famines and earthquakes. A large number of scriptures were needed to cover the Great Buddha and the Priest and his students travelled all over Japan to collect the scriptures. Despite working on installing the Big Buddha, Priest Ichyuu passed away in 1815 without seeing the completion of his work. His successor, Priest Kohshuu ensured that the Buddha statue was installed and a grand ceremony was held to mark the completion. 

A smaller wooden statue of the Amida Buddha is placed directly in front of the Great Buddha statue.

When we visited, we were the only visitors at the temple - a stark contrast to the large number of visitors to the Buddha statues at Kamakura and Nara. 

A small model of the Shohoji Temple is also placed in the main hall. 

Several other statues and paintings surround the Great Buddha statue.

Located in a quiet neighborhood, the Shohoji Temple can be easily missed if you are not looking out for it !  

Address : Gifu prefecture, Gifu city,  Daibutsu-cho   

Entrance fees : Adults 200 yen; Children 100 yen 

Opening hours :  9:00 hrs- 17:00 hrs

Closing days : None

Parking : Limited parking available 

Official Website: http://gifu-daibutsu.com/index.html