Myoo-in

Myoo-inNational Treasurefive-storey pagodaKusado SengenFukuyama

Hiroshima · Fukuyama

34.4782°N, 133.3439°E

Myoo-in has two National Treasures on one small hillside: a main hall rebuilt at the end of the Kamakura period and a five-storey pagoda of 1348. The hall combines Japanese proportions with Chinese detailing and is the oldest surviving building in that hybrid style anywhere. The pagoda is the fifth oldest of Japan's nationally designated pagodas, and it was paid for by ordinary people rather than a lord — raised by public subscription.

Below the temple lay Kusado Sengen, a medieval river port town excavated from the Ashida riverbed in one of the largest archaeological digs in Japan. The temple was its religious centre. It is a quiet, uncrowded place with a level of designated architecture that would draw queues in Kyoto, and it is a bus ride from Fukuyama Station.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Grounds open in daylight | Interior viewing 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

Closed: Confirm rest days before travelling

Entrance Fee

Free grounds | Interior viewing ¥500 adults and ¥300 junior and senior high school students

Best Season

Year-round

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Kusado-cho 1473, Fukuyama, on the lower slope of Mt. Atago above the Ashida river. By bus from the Fukuyama Station forecourt, or by car; the temple has parking adjoining the Kusado Inari Shrine car park. The grounds are free to enter; interior viewing is ¥500 for adults and ¥300 for junior and senior high school students, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The main hall and the five-storey pagoda of 1348 are National Treasures, and the site of the excavated medieval port town of Kusado Sengen lies below.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Two National Treasures, no crowds.** A Kamakura main hall and a 1348 pagoda on one hillside, with almost nobody there. This would have queues in Kyoto. **The pagoda was crowd-funded.** Built by public subscription rather than by a lord, which for a fourteenth-century five-storey pagoda is genuinely unusual. **Pay the ¥500 for the interior.** Grounds are free, but the hall's hybrid Japanese-Chinese interior is the reason it is designated, and viewing runs only from ten to four. **Kusado Sengen was below.** A medieval river port excavated from the Ashida riverbed. The temple served it, and the finds are displayed at the prefectural history museum in the city. **Combine with Fukuyama Castle.** Both are in the city and the two together make a half day that most visitors to this coast skip entirely.

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