Rurikoji Temple

Timothy Takemoto 2 weeks ago

The government did not decide to renovate in response to the NYT article, The renovation was under way before the article came out, but the journalist who recommended the temple did not know.The covering on the pagoda has, or will soon have, two transparent sides in response to the article and predicted, and gratefully anticipated, arrivals. Other than the pagoda there are: ornamental carp (which we feed a little with bread), giant beads to pull and test your karma (good if you can pull the beads one by one), a golden Buddha statue, pleasant covered walkways and gate, an anti dementia Buddha whose head you should rub for curative effect, a Buddha sized giant ladle, wood fish drums to beat as you pray, incense burning and smoke to bathe in, a shrine with heart-wrenching offerings to Kannon and aborted children (the toys they would have played with), omamori amulets for a price, a jizo statue to pour water upon, free English speaking temple guides in the gazebo near the park entrance sometimes, a temple seal, a Michael Jackson leaning Kannon statue to impersonate, a statue of King Enma who, like St. Peter of the Pearly Gates, decides your post-death fate and, beneath him, a spinning prayer wheel to request you be reborn in the pure land in your next life by reciting "Namu Shakunibutsu" (Namaste Buddha Shakyamuni) , The Budhha's footprints to pray for healing with a coin on the right kundalini spot maybe, a forest containing red-clothed Jizou statues above the cemetery, a place to go to pagoda level height (see photo) and look down on the temple grounds or even walk to the top of the mountain behind the pagoda where there is a shrine, a statue to Sesshu the painter and garden maker (whose famous garden is about 2km away at Joueiji Temple), and to a famed iaido sword unsheathing practitioner in the car park, a nightingale floor stone paved path which echoes, unlit stone lanterns to remind us that the light of our heart is always on, a goat in a nearby temple kindergarten towards town, strange ice cream on sale at the corner shop, Yamaguchi soul food, roof tile soba at the souvenir shop on the far side of the car park, a large and clean public toilet in the car park, and a soba (in place of rice) rolled (maki) sushi restaurant nearby. I wish the Yamaguchi police would let us see their kendo swordsmanship training in the impressive temple-like gym at the corner to the road to Rurikoji temple. We are working on that.

T 2 months ago

Very disappointed. After being featured by Newyork Times 52 places to visit in 2024, they have been maintaining the main attraction covering it up with walls... What the hell is Yamaguchi government thinking about when there is such a huge potential to attract tourists?? I hope someone takes an action immediately to uncover it and show it to the public or call out to the public that this is not the time to visit Yamaguchi.

Jason Chuei 4 months ago

The five storied pagoda and grounds. Pagoda currently under renovation at the time of writing (November 2023), whilst the grounds and temple are still open. Quaint and peaceful, well maintained, and not too busy on a Saturday morning.

tutul 007 5 months ago

The place is very nice and have a historic value also. We have visited by riding by cycle. There is a recent renovation work going on in 5 storied Ruriko-ji temple. We became a little bit frustrated since it was not visible. Due to construction work a whole cover has been covering the entire temple. There were some ice cream shop near the park and gate also. But remember all shops closed sharply at 5:00 PM. Overall, this is a nice place to visit when you were at Yamaguchi City.

Nithin Choudhary 11 months ago

A very beautiful and out of the world place. We visited this temple in March, and the cherry blossom season had just started. It was a lovely experience, which i will never forget. We took a bus from the Yamaguchi station to the temple. After visiting the temple, we walked down the river walk and reached the station. The walk too was very scenic, and it's an experience which will be treasured forever.