[2025 Kofu Attraction] Travel Guide for Kai Zenkōji Temple (Updated Apr)

[Access] About a 10-minute walk from Kai Zenkoji Station on the JR Minobu Line [Attractions] ~You can go on a tour of the Okaidan~ Kai Zenkoji is a famous temple along with Zenkoji in Nagano. It's great that you can have memorable experiences such as the Crying Dragon Experience, where you can hear the sound of a dragon roaring when you clap your hands towards the ceiling of the main hall, and the Okaidan Tour, where you walk down a dark street. A must-visit spot when you come to Yamanashi. *Information as of December 2022. #tripmemory2022

The temple was founded by Lord Shingen Takeda. During the Battle of Kawanakajima, he was worried that Shinano Zenkoji Temple would be burned down, so in 1558, he moved all the treasures of various Buddhist temples, including the main statue of Zenkoji Nyorai. It is said that Itagaki-no-Sato is the burial place of Zenko-ji Temple's founder, Honda Zenko, and the birthplace of Zenko-ji Temple's Tathagata. Since the founder of Zenko-ji Temple, Master Daibongan Kyōkū has welcomed everything on this mountain. Afterwards, due to the demise of the Takeda clan, the Gohonzon was passed back and forth among the Oda, Tokugawa, and Toyotomi clans, and returned to Shinano in 1598. The former statue of Buddha was designated as the Gohonzon in Kofu Shinsho, and it remains so to this day. #2024TravelReview

Kai Zenkoji Temple is located in the center of Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture. This temple is associated with Takeda Shingen, a famous Sengoku warlord, and the main hall at the back of the temple grounds is designated as an important cultural property 🇯🇵. The main hall is one of Japan's leading wooden buildings, and when you stand in front of it, you'll be overwhelmed by its majesty and size 😳. Two giant dragons are painted on the ceiling inside the hall, and if you clap your hands underneath them, the sound will resonate and sound like the roar of a dragon, so you can see the so-called "crying dragon" 👀. *The crying dragon you can see here is said to be the largest in Japan! ※I wanted to take a photo of it...😖 You can also experience the "Okaidan Meguri" training, where you walk around the small room in pitch black directly below the principal image, touching the key and forming a connection with the principal image🧘 If you are traveling to Yamanashi, please visit it😌 ------------------------------------------- [Access🚃] Get off at "Zenkoji Station" on the JR Minobu Line, about a 7-minute walk🚶 [Visiting hours🕰️] 9:00-16:30 [Visiting fee💰] Kondo/Treasure Hall: 500 yen for adults, 250 yen for elementary school students ------------------------------------------- #Spring trip #Yamanashi Prefecture #Yamanashi trip #Yamanashi trip #Kofu #Kofu sightseeing #Kai Zenkoji #Takeda Shingen #Temple tour #Temple and shrine tour #Temple and shrine #Crying dragon #camera trip #SLR #canoneoskissx9i #history #places where you can feel history #exploring history #love traveling #love history #historical tourism #travel record #cutout world #where should we go next #japan #japantravel