Amida-ji is a small temple in the northern tip of the Ohara, an isolated valley itself located north of Kyoto. Reaching Amida-ji is a bit complicated with few buses running from the main terminal in Ohara. The last part of the journey involves a steep path, straight uphill in the forest. All this contributes in making Amida-ji the least popular of the temples in Ohara. The temple is, however, a nice destination in autumn for momiji as it is less crowded than the other spots like Sanzen-in. While not popular it is still appreciated by people in the know: it has about 300 maple, including an 800 years old tree classified as National Monument.
The temple was founded in 1569 during the Edo period, but the Chinese-style gate that is found at the foot of the path is younger (1776). A mausoleum contains the mummified body of the temple's founder Tanzei Shonin. He in fact started the mummification process while he was still alive, through his severe ascetic discipline. When he was "ready", he entered the cave carved by his disciples and had them wall the entrance. Recommended for: Access: 400 円 Nearest location: Keitoku-in 桂德院 (1.7km) External links: ウィキペディア, Kyoto Navi, Kyoto Design, 京都風光, Satellite view, Map Keywords: Japan, 日本, Japon, Kyoto, 京都, Ohara, Amida-ji, 阿弥陀寺, temple, 寺院, 仏閣 Statistics: visited on 6 occasions, id 484, 22 photos (15 extra photos can be found in the archive). |
