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Hiraizumi: Takkoku no Iwaya
I managed to visit three sites in Hiraizumi in only one day: Takkoku no Iwaya, Chusonji and Motsuji Temples.
There was a bit of rushing involved, but it’s definitely doable! Not to forget that I started my day in Morioka to visit the castle ruins there!
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Visited: May 7th 2012
Access to Takkoku no Iwaya:
Takkoku no Iwaya (達谷窟） can be accessed by bus from either JR Hiraizumi Station (10min.) or Motsuji Temple (8min.). Take the “Hiraizumi – Takkoku Line” (平泉・達谷線). A one-way trip will cost 380yen. There’s a bus roughly every 20-30 minutes from around 10am-3pm. After that time there are almost no buses anymore.
I highly recommend getting a bus timetable in English at the Tourist Information Center of JR Hiraizumi Station! The bus only runs from April to early November, but not in winter!
Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamon Hall (達谷窟毘沙門堂) was established in 801 by Sakanoue no Tamuramaro. He built the hall to thank the god of war, Bishamon, after defeating his enemy Akuro Takamaro.
The hall is built in the style of Kyoto‘s Kiyomizudera.
108 statues were set up in the hall. It was a place where people could pray for peace.
In 1490 the hall burnt down, but was immediately rebuilt. After that there were several other fires and eventually only the main figure of Buddha and 20 other statues could be saved.
The current Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamon Hall was rebuilt in 1961.
There’s a Buddha statue deep inside the Bishamon Hall. It is said that Jigaku Daishi carved it in the Heian era.
It is not open to the public and enclosed in a cabinet that was a present from the Date family.
In certain intervals it’s accessible for the public, a very rare occasion!
Bishamon, the god of war:
Bishamon (毘沙門) is one of the Japanese Seven Gods of Fortune and the guardian of the people who were born in the year of the tiger.
You can recognize him as the one holding a small pagoda in one hand and a spear in the other. He fights demons and invites happiness.
On the huge rock behind the Takkoku no Iwaya Bishamon Hall you’ll find a Buddha carving: Ganmen Daibutsu.
A legend says that it was carved by Minamoto no Yoshiie by firing arrows at the sandstone cliff.
The Buddha is one of the five large Buddhas in Japan. It’s 16.5m high and used to be a full figure of a sitting Buddha in heaven.
However, an earthquake in 1896 destroyed the lower part of the stone carving.
At the Takkoku no Iwaya temple grounds you can also pray and write your wishes on a wooden wishing plaque called “ema“.
The Bishamon Hall is the main attraction of Takkoku no Iwaya, but there are also some other halls such as the Benten Hall, Fudo Hall and Kondo (Golden Hall).
The pond surrounding the Benten Hall is called Gama no Ike (Toad Pond).
I think I found Mt. Fuji on one of the stone lanterns!
Before leaving I enjoyed the nature that surrounds the temple grounds.
TOURIST INFORMATION
| Open: | Admission: | Required time: | Access: | TEL.: |
| 8:00-17:00 (April 1st – Nov 23rd) 8:00-16:30 (Nov 24th – Mar 31st) |
300yen | about 30min. | JR Hiraizumi Sta. (then ~ 10min. by bus) |
0191-46-4931 |
And that’s it! That was my Golden Week Vacation trip to Tohoku and Hokkaido in 2012.
I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. The Tohoku area is really beautiful and it would be great if you think about visiting some day!
Thanks for reading. Let’s see what’s going up next! .gif)
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Looks absolutely stunning. Seems I have to give Hiraizumi another chance after I’ve been so cruelly locked out when I went there in winter.
I need to go again as well!
I suppose spring and autumn are better times to visit, but I understand that we can’t always choose when to go!
What a nice place!
Thanks for your beautiful photos!
It really is!
Glad you liked them! ^___^
A great series that highlights some of the cool places to visit in the Tohoku region. I truly hope more and more tourists to Japan visit this beautiful area in the future. Now, any plans for your Golden Week vacation this year?
I hope so, too!
Good question. I’m thinking of giving Mt. Fuji another chance and might visit Shizuoka and / or Yamanashi again in early April.
As for Golden Week I’m not sure yet. I’m tempted to go to Tohoku yet again, maybe this time starting in Sapporo (Hokkaido) and then working my way down. I’d love to re-visit Hiraizumi!
I’m not sure why but I love torii gates and bridges. We don’t have very many in Okinawa, so thanks for sharing such an interesting view!
To be honest, after visiting Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto for the first time with all its red gates, I couldn’t stand seeing shrine gates for quite some time! *g*
Nowadays I’m a big fan of them. I even visited the biggest shrine gate in Japan last year! (And of course, I’ll blog about that in the future.)
Beautiful photos of a beautiful place. I haven’t had a chance to visit Japan for real. I was at Narita for 1 day… but, that’s nothing. I am looking forward to my time in the country with so much history, culture, and traditions. Can’t wait!
I’m new to your blog. Just started exploring it… Good job!
I hope you’ll get a chance in the future!.gif)
Let me know if you need any tips as for where to go in Japan!
Thanks! I subscribed to your blog as I love to read about other people’s travel experience!
Thanks, Jasmine! I’ve added you to “Japan”-reference in my To-Do-Go List :) Thanks for the subscription! I do the same.
It looks absolutely stunning ! Beautiful pictures as always.gif)
I hope I’ll get to visit this place ~