Okuboji

OkubojiShikoku pilgrimagetemple 88Sanukikechigan

Kagawa · Sanuki

34.1855°N, 134.1887°E

Okuboji is the eighty-eighth and last temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage, in the mountains of eastern Kagawa at the foot of Mt. Yahazu, and it is where the circuit closes. Pilgrims who have walked eleven hundred kilometres arrive here, and beside the main hall is a rack where they leave their staff and their conical hat when the walking is over. These are gathered and burned in a ritual fire.

The temple was founded in 717 and the hall was built by Kukai in 815 after he practised at the inner sanctuary. Under the Daishi hall a passage holds the principal images of all eighty-eight temples, so a pilgrim can complete the circuit again underfoot. It has admitted women throughout its history, unusually, and is known for that. Parking is free and the maples in November are exceptional.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Grounds accessible in daylight | Stamp office keeps pilgrimage hours

Closed: Open year-round | Mountain roads affected in winter

Entrance Fee

Free | Free parking for about 100 vehicles

Best Season

November for autumn colour | Spring and autumn for the pilgrimage

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Tawa Kanewari 96, Sanuki, on the eastern flank of Mt. Yahazu at around 450 m. From Takamatsu-Nishi IC take Routes 32 and 11 east and then Prefectural Route 3 south through Nagao to Route 377. Free parking for about 100 vehicles at the gate. Phone 0879-56-2278. The grounds are free. An underground passage beneath the Daishi hall holds the principal images of all 88 temples and allows a symbolic circuit on the sands of each. Pilgrims' staffs and hats are left beside the main hall and later burned in a goma ritual.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Look at the staffs.** The rack beside the main hall holds the walking staffs and hats of people who have just finished eleven hundred kilometres. It is the most affecting thing here and it is easy to walk past. **Do the underground passage.** Beneath the Daishi hall, with the principal image and sand from every one of the eighty-eight temples. It takes minutes and completes the circuit symbolically. **It admitted women from the start.** Which is why it is called the women's Koya. Most mountain temples of its age did not. **November for the maples.** The valley here turns and the temple is a well-known autumn site in Kagawa, with the car park to match. **Free parking for a hundred cars.** At the gate, which for a mountain temple is unusually generous and reflects how many people arrive at the end of the circuit.

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