Tochoji Temple: A Tranquil Oasis in Fukuoka

Tochoji Temple, officially known as Tochomitsuji Temple, is a serene escape in the heart of Fukuoka. Founded in 806 AD by the revered monk Kobo Daishi (Kukai) after his return from China, it's the oldest Shingon Buddhist temple on Kyushu. The temple was originally built near the coast but was later moved to its current location by Kuroda Tadayuki, the second lord of the Chikuzen Province.The temple's main attraction is the Fukuoka Daibutsu, a massive 10.8-meter tall wooden Buddha statue, completed in 1992. Visitors can explore the "hell and paradise tour" located in the statue's pedestal, featuring a dark passageway where touching the 'wheel of Buddha' is said to grant passage to paradise. Behind the Great Buddha are as many as 5,000 small Buddha statues enshrined.Other highlights include a five-story vermilion pagoda, completed in 2011 using traditional construction methods without nails, and the Rokkakudo (hexagonal hall), a cultural asset of the city. The temple also houses a Senju Kannon (Thousand-Armed Kannon) statue, an Important Cultural Property carved from a single piece of Japanese cedar during the Heian period. Tochoji is the family temple of the Kuroda clan, and the graves of the second, third, and eighth lords are located here.