Kosanji Temple

KosanjiMiraishin no OkamarbleIkuchijimaShimanami Kaido

Hiroshima · Onomichi

34.3048°N, 133.0893°E

Kosanji was built by an industrialist who took Buddhist orders after his mother's death and spent thirty years and a fortune on a temple in her memory. It is not a historic temple: the buildings are twentieth-century reproductions of famous structures from across Japan — a gate from Nikko, a pagoda from Nara — executed with real craftsmanship on a scale that is difficult to take in.

Behind it, up the hill, is Miraishin no Oka, five thousand square metres of white Carrara marble carved by the sculptor Kuetani Itto into terraces, monoliths and seating, an entirely different proposition again. A café at the top serves gelato among the marble. One ticket at ¥1,400 covers the temple, the Senbutsudo cave and the marble hill, and it is free for junior high school age and under.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Last entry 4:30 PM

Closed: Confirm rest days before travelling

Entrance Fee

¥1,400 adults | ¥1,000 university students | ¥800 high school students | Free for junior high school age and under

Best Season

Year-round

Visit Duration

2 hours

Getting There

Access Information

Setoda-cho Setoda 553-2, Onomichi, on Ikuchijima on the Shimanami Kaido. By car or bicycle on the Shimanami Kaido, or by bus and ferry from Onomichi. Open 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, last entry 4:30 PM. Admission ¥1,400 for adults, ¥1,000 for university students and ¥800 for high school students; free for junior high school age and under. The ticket covers the temple, the Senbutsudo cave and Miraishin no Oka, the 5,000 sq m white marble garden by the sculptor Kuetani Itto.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Go up to the marble hill.** Miraishin no Oka is included in the ticket and is the part people remember. Five thousand square metres of Carrara marble on a hillside above the Inland Sea. **Do the Senbutsudo cave.** An underground passage lined with a thousand Buddhas leading up to the marble. It is on the same ticket and easy to miss. **The buildings are reproductions and say so.** Copies of famous structures from across Japan, built to a high standard in the twentieth century. Judging them as historic architecture misses what they are. **Free for junior high school age and under.** ¥1,400 otherwise, which is high for this coast but covers three quite different sites. **Setoda is a citrus town.** Lemon products, gelato and cafés along the seafront, and the island is a natural stop on a Shimanami cycling day.

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