Yakuri-ji Temple

Yakuri-ji is a temple in Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture, and the 85th temple of the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage. It is also known as a sacred site for Kangiten and is beloved as a deity for prosperous business; locals visit multiple times a year, and it becomes especially crowded at New Year. This is because the main image and attendant images of Fudo Myo-o and Aizen Myo-o are unveiled only during the first three days of the New Year. To reach Yakuri-ji, you can drive, hike, or take the cable car. The retro cable car costs 1,000 yen round trip for adults and takes you up to the temple. The grounds are very spacious, and simply enjoying the gardens—with hydrangeas, ginkgo trees, and more—is part of the fun. There is also a tengu legend, and you can see tengu geta (clogs). In the sutra-copying room, you can write sutras daily and dedicate them while in the sacred atmosphere of Yakuri-ji. There is also a place called Sai-no-Kawara lined with Jizo statues, considered the boundary between the human world and the sacred realm. Access is about a 25-minute walk from Kotoden Yakuri Station, or from Yakuri Cable Tozanguchi Station it’s a 4-minute cable ride.