Futagoji

FutagojiRokugo ManzanKunisakistone guardiansautumn colour

Oita · Kunisaki

33.5741°N, 131.6035°E

Futagoji sits at the centre of the Kunisaki peninsula, on the slopes of Mount Futago, which is the volcanic cone the whole peninsula radiates from. From the Edo period it was the head temple of Rokugo Manzan, the Tendai Buddhist network of temples spread across the peninsula's valleys, and it is still the point the circuit is organised around.

The stone guardian figures at the gate are the largest on the peninsula and the ones every photograph uses — heavy, weathered and standing on the approach rather than enclosed in a gatehouse. Above them the precinct climbs through cedar to halls set among boulders, with a spring the temple has long associated with fertility prayers. The maples through the grounds turn from around mid-November and are among the better known displays in Oita.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (March–November) | 8:30 AM – 4:30 PM (December–February)

Closed: Open year-round

Entrance Fee

¥300

Best Season

Mid-late November for maples | April–May for fresh green on the Futago trail

Visit Duration

1–1.5 hours; add 1.5 hours for the summit walk

Getting There

Access Information

Aki-machi Futago 1548, Kunisaki City. By car from Kitsuki or Bungotakada; a car is necessary. Admission ¥300, with a discount on presentation of a disability certificate. The precinct climbs through stone steps and forest paths.

Insider Guide

Premium

**The gate guardians are before the ticket gate.** The pair on the approach are the largest stone nio on the peninsula and cost nothing to see. Do not walk past them looking for the entrance. **Mid to late November for maples.** Reliable timing and the busiest fortnight of the temple's year. **Mount Futago is walkable from here.** A trail continues from the precinct to the summit at 721 m in about 40 minutes, with the whole peninsula and the Inland Sea from the top. **Rokugo Manzan is a circuit, not one temple.** Futagoji, Makiodo's Heian statues, Fukiji's National Treasure hall and the Kumano cliff carvings are all within 40 minutes and were a single religious system. Doing one leaves the idea incomplete. **Minemichi long trail.** The peninsula's ancient pilgrimage route between the temples has been re-established as a marked long-distance path in sections, and the temple can point you at the trailheads.

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