This temple also made it onto my “must see” list for Kyushu, and I am so glad it did because I loved it! One of the reasons why it made it on my list was the name. The word “Futago” means twin in Japan. I thought it was a really interesting name for a temple.
Futago-ji Temple is a beautiful temple, in a beautiful location that I couldn’t wait to explore!
The first thing that caught my eye when I walked up was this bell.
The gentleman in this picture saw me standing there looking at it and told me I needed to make a wish and then ring the bell. Then he said he would show me how. He walked up, placed his money in the offering box, walked over to the rope, paused to make a wish, and then he swung the wood until it made contact with the bell. Then he looked at me and waved his hands towards the bell, telling me it was my turn. I started walking up and he reminded me to make a wish before hitting the bell. He stood there and watched me until I was done, and then just smiled at me before he walked away. I really appreciated that he took the time to explain what to do to me. This is another wonderful thing about traveling. I have met so many kind strangers!
After finishing up with the bell, I dropped off my Shuincho and headed to the temple for my offering and prayer.
While I was inside the temple, I met a priest who spoke English really well. He was at a temple in New York for a few years, and seemed happy to have someone to speak English with. He told me to make sure I walk around back and see everything before leaving. I thanked him and headed to the back.
I could see right away why he wanted me to see the rest of the area.
There were a lot of steps on the other side of this torii gate and I had no idea what was waiting for me at the top, but I needed to find out so I started making the trek up the steps.
THIS is what was waiting for me! This is known as the Inner Hall, and inside is a gorgeous wooden statue of Kannon (Goddess of Mercy).
It’s partially inside the mountain! I just stopped and stared at it for a few minutes. This was well worth the trek up those stairs that never seemed to end. Actually, I would have walked up some more of those steps to get to this!
Another temple I highly recommend visiting when in Oita!
Address: 1548 Akimachi Futago, Kunisaki-shi, Ōita-ken 873-0356
Leave a Reply