It is a simple, peaceful place. The temple inside is striking as you walk from one end to the other while viewing the thousand buddhas statues and their guardians. The descriptions are effective in painting the history of the temple and statues. Descriptions are in four languages : Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and English.
The entrance fee was ¥600 for adults
We visited on Friday morning (10 am), and it was not too crowded. There was one group of students at that time. We spent a little over 60 minutes there.
Many groups of students were arriving around 11AM.
A temple featuring a main hall with 33 compartments (as stated in its name). The vast hall houses over 1,000 statues of the Thousand-Armed and Thousand-Eyed Bodhisattva, recognized as Japanese national treasures. The atmosphere is solemn and serene, and the intricately crafted statues are truly captivating, rewarding close observation of their details.
Went here on a weekend around midday, and it was fairly empty. Entrance is cheap at 600¥.
The gardens are nice but not exquisite, and there really isn't much to see outside. Inside, there is no AC and no photos allowed. Feels pretty arbitrary as to why not. There are pictures of the statues online. Why not allow people to take their own? Statues are cool, especially seeing so many in one area, but that's all there is. Seems to be a place of active worship.
You can make offerings to have "good luck" etc for 500-1500¥ yen. Feels like a money grab, though some people seem more than willing to pay it.
Overall, the gardens are lackluster, and you spend most of your time walking through a hot and sweaty centuries old wooden building with statues that you can't take pictures of. But I guess it is 600¥.
We visited the Sanjusangen-do temple in Kyoto, the shrine that holds 1000 statues of Kannon, the goddess of compassion, with her 1000 arms. It’s in a long, wooden pavilion on steps and each intricate statue has many arms with items in each hand.. They stand shoulder to shoulder and it is quite a sight to see. The amount of detail and work that had to be put into each statue is staggering.
In the front row are unique statues of other gods that are all different and very unique. No pictures are allowed inside, unfortunately, so you will have to take mind pictures. Pictures outside are fine though. The building is quite impressive with its scale alone. It also holds relics and art in its halls. A very interesting and impressive sight to see and one that you won’t soon forget!
No photos allowed inside.
1000 of statues, amazing temple, worth visiting. Not crowded. Wide space, big building and garden.
1000 statues have 1000 difference faces it seems with specific meaning. Highly recommend. Not very far from tofukuji station.
