I check into Kokusai 21, for a two-day trip to Nagano Prefecture, which lies about 90 mins south by car from Joetsu City.
View from Kokusai 21 hotel
Taking a single room, I opt for a non-smoking room, as I decided I quite like my lungs, and quickly fill the mini fridge with a load of freshly imported British biscuits and absolutely no fruit what so ever- thanks Mum and Dad!
Zenkoji Temple is the crown of the city’s Teramachi, or Temple Town, and is a brisk 20 minute walk from my hotel.
On the approach to Temple Town, one might almost be mistaken for thinking that there had been a light dusting of snow in the streets and on the buildings, but alas, in typical Japanese fashion, it’s simply impeccably clean.
Zenkoji temple, and the gate that preceeds it, are both forboding wooden structures.
Now, inside one of the holiest sites for Japanese Buddhists, one might not expect to find a touchscreen ticket machine out of the 90s, and a large monitor display, guiding the way for those who wish to pay to see the shrine itself, and a pair of tastefully erected, wooden shops selling trinkets. Alas…
Stood in the entrance, one can see the shrine itself, set to the back of Zenkoji. A dozen paper lamps, shaped like Victorian street lights, illuminate golden iconography.
In front, tatami mats stretch across 10m square, separating the shops, 3 large, ornate taiko drums, next to me, and the shrine.
A series of dark wooden pillars support the vaulted ceiling.
Next to me is a life-size wooden Buddha or monk, I’m not too sure which, with an orange bib- I watch a Japanese man bow with respect, before rubbing part of his body and then the corresponding part of the figure- he repeats this several times.
A cauldron of incense washes in from the foot of the temple’s steps, and mixes with the voices of Chinese, Japanese, and English.
Walking back through the expansive grounds of the teramachi, I strike up a conversation with a volunteer tour guide.
In his seventies, with liver spots covering the patches of his balding head, he gave me a quick rundown of the area, in a hoarse voice, akin to Jabba the Hutt in tone.
Buddhism arrived around 2600 years ago, with this site having come into existence about 1200 years ago, and the main gate and Zenkoji temple having been erected around 800 years ago- it turns out Zenkoji is the third largest wooden structure in Japan! The other two being in Nara and Kyoto.
‘This time in two years or so,’ he explained, and then proceeded to gesture behind me, ‘You won’t be able to move. They’ll be queuing far beyond the gate.’
By ‘they’, the tour guide told me that below the temple lies a golden door handle, sacred to Buddhists, and that touching it brings one closer to Buddha- Zenkoji is beyond Japanese, Buddhist factionalism, and aptly represents a space of harmony.
I can’t recommend Zenkoji Temple enough. It’s probably 90 mins on the Shinkansen out of Tokyo, so if you’ve got a few days going spare in the capital, you won’t be disappointed!
Japan and Me 