Anrakuji Temple
Anrakuji Temple
4.5
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Tuesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Wednesday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Thursday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Friday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Saturday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
8:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
4.5
179 reviews
Excellent
72
Very good
86
Average
16
Poor
5
Terrible
0
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Judge404
Cape Town Central, South Africa105 contributions
Sept 2015 • Couples
This temple is beautiful with a great approach leading up a mystical set of stairs in the forest. Gardens are very well maintained and a fee is charged if you want to explore the temple in detail.
Written September 10, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Cliff S
132 contributions
Aug 2015 • Family
A historical place you could visit on a trip to Besshoonsen. A beautiful temple inside a beautiful forest. You need to pay a fee at the entrance, but it is very small compared to what you can see inside the area of Anrakuji Temple. It is a bit of a hike to go up to the temple... but there are stairs and steps you can take all the way up there. Well worth the trip!
Written September 10, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Brett W
Gold Coast, Australia356 contributions
Jun 2015 • Couples
If you are in Ueda enjoying one of the many onsens, Anrakuji is worth a visit. It's easy to get "temple fatigue" in Japan, but the 4-level octagonal wooden pagoda (built in the early part of the 14th century) in this temple complex is the only one of it's kind left in Japan...and looks wonderful.
Written June 23, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
ynaruke
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan195 contributions
Oct 2023 • Couples
Looking at the map, the road looks quite narrow, but you can get there without any problems. I thought it would be impossible to drive, but there was a small parking lot in the hot spring town, so I put 500 yen into the slot of an unmanned building (before 9am), and the coins fell into a box through a plastic water pipe. By the time I had visited Kitamuki Kannon, Anraku-ji Temple, and Joraku-ji Temple, the parking lot was almost full. There are many trees around the three-story pagoda, so the lighting is quite poor, so if you climb a little higher, you can take the photo shown in the title photo. It has a four-story roof, but it is a three-story pagoda.
Written November 14, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Gaikokujin P
Moscow, Russia7,047 contributions
Apr 2013 • Solo
Very impressed - the Octagonal 3-storey pagoda, the 16 Rakans (arhats) pavillion, the statues of priests Yogyu Enin and Shokoku Isen and, last but not least, the quiet cemetery and the surrounding forest are great. Mark the Kuro-mon (Black Gate) marking the old border of the temple territory.
Written March 12, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
hfot2 🌸🍁🌸
Vermont7,599 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Pass through the Kuromon Gate, walk down the road, then proceed along the edge of the frog pond. (We could not see a single frog, yet we could hear the peeping of very many frogs.)
From the base of the hill, head towards the tall trees lining an axial approach road and climb up the tall stairway, beneath very tall evergreens. The path includes both stairs and some sloped walkways, lined in one section with Jizo statues with their recognizable red hats and bibs.
At the top we found a small temple with a lot of heavily manicured trees and several flower beds in bloom. We photographed the fine bell tower, which was framed by sakura. While we were shooting, a monk came out to ring the bell for a great while. We were not able to photo him well because only a portion of his body was visible over the thick hedgerow, no matter where we stood.
We went into the courtyard and admired the large main building and its very detailed wooden sculptural ornamentation.
Skipping the three-story octagonal pagoda to save it for the next day, we left by the paved road running parallel to the stairs.
We returned the next day primarily to visit the big draw, the three-story pagoda. This is a National Treasure and the only pagoda of its kind in Japan. In all honesty, it looks more Chinese than Japanese.
To get to the temple and the entrance to the pagoda, this time we took the easier route up the paved road.
The ticket booth for the pagoda is in the left corner of the courtyard. ¥300 entry fee.
It is an easy walk, albeit up a great many stairs, to the pagoda. Very early on we began to be aware of the pagoda hovering amongst gravestones. We took the climb very gradually, stopping every few steps to snap another photo of the pagoda appearing between the tall thin cedar trees.
When we finally reached the level of the pagoda, it proved to be a tough shot, with poor exposure and it required all sorts of tricks to try to compensate. Framing the best shot of the pagoda, preferably from a bit of elevation, involved walking up among the grave sites all throughout the forest, many extended family tombs with carefully constructed level platforms. Climbing high up the hill gave good angles on the pagoda, but it was a tricky steep climb. Reaching ever higher viewpoints, we finally hit one big-time, with good composition, fair light, and an obliging white cherry tree massively in bloom right behind the pagoda’s spire. We also shot many close-ups of details
Finally we descended, taking only the occasional backward look. We looked in at the big kura and see it is a library, with sutra housed in an octagonal drum. Statues are visible behind glass in another building, but they were impossible to photograph with the reflection on the glass, so we just appreciated their presence.
Finally left the site, thanking the gate keeper, who was probably worried that we hadn’t reappeared after two or three other pairs of visitors had been and gone. No visitors were at the temple and the pagoda when we first arrived, but after a while, a few had arrived.
Visitor’s tips:
Restrooms are on the right side of the pathway almost directly opposite the bell tower.
Walking staves are available just beyond the ticket booth.
Signs in Japanese describe the construction of the pagoda - use your phone and Google translate to read them.
From the base of the hill, head towards the tall trees lining an axial approach road and climb up the tall stairway, beneath very tall evergreens. The path includes both stairs and some sloped walkways, lined in one section with Jizo statues with their recognizable red hats and bibs.
At the top we found a small temple with a lot of heavily manicured trees and several flower beds in bloom. We photographed the fine bell tower, which was framed by sakura. While we were shooting, a monk came out to ring the bell for a great while. We were not able to photo him well because only a portion of his body was visible over the thick hedgerow, no matter where we stood.
We went into the courtyard and admired the large main building and its very detailed wooden sculptural ornamentation.
Skipping the three-story octagonal pagoda to save it for the next day, we left by the paved road running parallel to the stairs.
We returned the next day primarily to visit the big draw, the three-story pagoda. This is a National Treasure and the only pagoda of its kind in Japan. In all honesty, it looks more Chinese than Japanese.
To get to the temple and the entrance to the pagoda, this time we took the easier route up the paved road.
The ticket booth for the pagoda is in the left corner of the courtyard. ¥300 entry fee.
It is an easy walk, albeit up a great many stairs, to the pagoda. Very early on we began to be aware of the pagoda hovering amongst gravestones. We took the climb very gradually, stopping every few steps to snap another photo of the pagoda appearing between the tall thin cedar trees.
When we finally reached the level of the pagoda, it proved to be a tough shot, with poor exposure and it required all sorts of tricks to try to compensate. Framing the best shot of the pagoda, preferably from a bit of elevation, involved walking up among the grave sites all throughout the forest, many extended family tombs with carefully constructed level platforms. Climbing high up the hill gave good angles on the pagoda, but it was a tricky steep climb. Reaching ever higher viewpoints, we finally hit one big-time, with good composition, fair light, and an obliging white cherry tree massively in bloom right behind the pagoda’s spire. We also shot many close-ups of details
Finally we descended, taking only the occasional backward look. We looked in at the big kura and see it is a library, with sutra housed in an octagonal drum. Statues are visible behind glass in another building, but they were impossible to photograph with the reflection on the glass, so we just appreciated their presence.
Finally left the site, thanking the gate keeper, who was probably worried that we hadn’t reappeared after two or three other pairs of visitors had been and gone. No visitors were at the temple and the pagoda when we first arrived, but after a while, a few had arrived.
Visitor’s tips:
Restrooms are on the right side of the pathway almost directly opposite the bell tower.
Walking staves are available just beyond the ticket booth.
Signs in Japanese describe the construction of the pagoda - use your phone and Google translate to read them.
Written March 30, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
VincentePaulo
Zurich, Switzerland756 contributions
Apr 2018 • Couples
Anrakuji, with its impressive wooden octagonal pagoda built in the Chinese Sung architectural style during the Kamakura Period (1192-1333). The pagoda is the only example of its kind left in Japan and is designated as a national treasure. If you are happened to be an architect you must see this. The temple is located in the forest out side Bessho village. It is worth visiting not just because of the pagoda but the entire garden and Zen dojo are also worth seeing.
Written May 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
KooH05
Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa, Japan28 contributions
Aug 2017 • Solo
I didn't expect much with this temple, but I was wrong. This temple has a beautiful three-layer roof tower, which is national treasure. You should pay extra fee to see the tower, but I bet it's worth the price. You can enjoy fresh air and quiet time if you visit here. I would like to come back here.
正直、大して期待せずに出かけたお寺でしたが、山門から本堂、八角堂に至る道が素晴らしく、蒸し暑い日だったのですが、ヒンヤリとした空気が気持ちよかったです。（訪れたのは昼の11時頃）八角堂を拝観するのには300円の拝観料が必要ですが、お金を出すだけの価値はあると思います。石段を上りながら木立の間に見える八角堂が美しく、八角堂前の小さな広場に置かれているベンチにしばし腰かけて、ゆっくりとさわやかな空気を楽しむことが出来ました。また訪れてみたいと思いつつ、お寺を後にしました。
正直、大して期待せずに出かけたお寺でしたが、山門から本堂、八角堂に至る道が素晴らしく、蒸し暑い日だったのですが、ヒンヤリとした空気が気持ちよかったです。（訪れたのは昼の11時頃）八角堂を拝観するのには300円の拝観料が必要ですが、お金を出すだけの価値はあると思います。石段を上りながら木立の間に見える八角堂が美しく、八角堂前の小さな広場に置かれているベンチにしばし腰かけて、ゆっくりとさわやかな空気を楽しむことが出来ました。また訪れてみたいと思いつつ、お寺を後にしました。
Written August 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Sakewino
Kailua, HI104 contributions
Mar 2016 • Couples
Anrakuji Temple is a Buddhist temple of the Soto school in Bessho Onsen. It's best known for having the only extant octagonal pagoda in Japan. The grounds are beautiful and very serene. Beautiful pine trees surround the area and there is a pond with milky water due to the hot springs in the area. Grab a walking stick (provided) and make the short climb up to the pagoda.
Written March 16, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Julie K
20 contributions
Aug 2014 • Couples
There are several places to visit around Anrakuji such as Bessho Temple and many Hot Springs which is famous in Ueda. Also you can find many Ryokans, Japanese Style.
Written October 10, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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