Nittaiji Temple
When I first visited Japan, I had Nittaiji Temple on my to-visit list. As Nittaiji isn’t a World Heritage site, you may find me strange for having this specific temple on my to-visit list. However, it’s really not all that strange. A place should never be visited just because it holds the title as a World Heritage site. A place should be visited simply because you hold interest in it or happen to stumble upon it. And I had an interest in Nittaiji. Unfortunately, I couldn’t cross Nittaiji Temple off from my to-visit list until after my first time in Japan was already over. Regardless, I made it happen in my second trip and that’s all that matters.
Nittaiji Temple isn’t strikingly beautiful. Yes, the grounds look clean and organized but it doesn’t scream beauty to me. I suppose where it wins is in it’s expansiveness. Nittaiji is on a lot of land. Another area this temple wins in is that it carries the Buddha’s ashes on site. Lastly, I feel the temple is probably somewhat of a comfortable treat to natives due to it’s slight uniqueness. If you ever decide to read reviews for this temple, you’ll come across a good number of reviews that mention how “different” this temple is as it is supposedly more like a Thai temple. I’m going to have to say that these reviewers have no idea what a Thai temple looks like. While it’s rather refreshing to come across reviews from Japanese natives that seem to accept and like the temple’s uniqueness, the reality is that this temple is way more Japanese looking to me than it is Thai looking to me. If you don’t believe me, please just do a google search on what the average Thai temple in Thailand looks like and I have a funny feeling you’ll agree with me.
Giant Monks
Never have I come across giant statues of monks guarding a temple’s entrance in Thailand. But then again, it’s not like I’ve seen all of Thailand before. I must say I liked the two giant statues guarding Nittaiji Temple. The craftsmanship of the statues were quite detailed and impressive. I loved how the giant monks looked welcoming and hospitable. Call me crazy but I was very much in need of seeing warmth and this seemed to do it for me.
The bell and pagoda
The bell was nice to see. It actually had both Thai and Japanese writing on it. Near the bell is a pagoda that is closed off. I would have loved to see what was inside the pagoda but it is what it is.
“Thai-ness” of the Temple
As you get closer to the temple, you’ll encounter a statue of Thailand’s King Rama V. It was kind of cool to see such an important Thai king as a statue here in Japan. But when you consider Nittaiji Temple and what nittaiji actually means, it basically makes sense.
Not far from King Rama V’s statue, you’ll find something inscribed with Thai and Japanese motifs.
As mentioned earlier, I didn’t find the temple to be very “Thai” despite running into things that were written in Thai or seemed Thai on the surface. I felt reviewers would be more accurate to describe this temple as Thai looking had the architecture of the temple been Thai or Thai influenced.
Interestingly enough, when you go inside the main temple, you do see a Thai style Buddhist altar, along with a golden Thai Buddha statue. The altar was located in the back of the temple. Honestly, I wanted to get closer to the altar but wasn’t so sure if I’d be allowed to do so. I am aware that a visitor (a reviewer) had the opportunity to get close to the altar for a photo opportunity, though. I suppose if I was that desperate, I could have asked someone that was affiliated with the temple to get close to the altar. Either way, I initially thought that there was no temple employee/volunteer inside the main temple. I thought that until I heard someone sucking their breath in.
This irked me because breath sucking via teeth is usually a sign of something negative. The person is either frustrated, annoyed or bothered by something when they do this. I’m not sure what this person was bothered by but I’m assuming it had something to do with me not showing respect (or praying) the way a native would. So what if I don’t throw a coin into the coin box? Why act like I’m abnormal, weird or bad when I’m just being respectful in a different way? What if I don’t have a coin with me? What if I do have a coin on me but it’ll take forever for me to find it in my bag? What’s the big deal? (And of course, this isn’t the first time I’ve seen this type of nonsense in Japan before.)
To me, what was most bothersome was not so much the breath sucking but the fact that I was totally unaware that someone was inside, watching me (and any other visitor). The person wasn’t visible and that creeped me out. It’s one thing if I had received a greeting when I first entered the temple but it’s a totally different thing to be “greeted” by breath sucking way after I had entered the temple and from a distance nonetheless.
To be fair, the invisible man was probably hidden in the booth. I was thinking of visiting this booth but after hearing the breath sucking, I decided to stay the F away and leave. I’m going to assume this booth is where they sell amulets and whatnot. I kind of wanted to purchase something to support the temple but that breath sucking thing really turned me off. After looking around the temple a bit, I asked myself where the ashes are. I couldn’t figure out where to go see the ashes. I also couldn’t figure out where to see the garden. (Supposedly, there’s a garden that’s worth seeing but I can’t tell you anything about it.) With signs asking you to keep out, I really didn’t want to venture into places where I’m not invited to do so. At the same time, I didn’t want to leave the grounds until I saw the ashes. I was determined to make it happen.
The thing is getting to the ashes is rather tricky. One would assume that it’s behind the main temple however that’s not exactly the case. You need to walk a few blocks from the main temple to reach another part of Nittaiji Temple. What a chore, right? Honestly, I had a wtf moment because common sense makes it seem as though everything is located on the same grounds. Thank goodness that my phone was able to direct me to the ashes! The interesting thing is that I didn’t know right off the bat that I was heading to the ashes. I think I had decided to walk there only because I noticed a nearby landmark on my phone’s map. Apparently, this landmark ended up being the other part of Nittaiji Temple.
The other portion of Nittaiji Temple
This part of Nittaiji Temple seemed rather secluded, peaceful and rusty. The entrance to the grounds was pretty nice but I can see how some people would get spooked out by this place. After all, a pretty massive cemetery is on site. Away from the cemetery, I was able to take a pretty nice walk which eventually led me to the ashes.
It was a bit disheartening to not be able to get close to the stupa that houses the ashes but there’s probably a reason why the temple wants to keep people at a distance from the stupa. I found this specific spot in front of the stupa rather peaceful. It’s probably a good spot to pray or meditate, if no one’s around. (I don’t recall there being benches in the vicinity, though so perhaps staying too long isn’t recommended.)
On the same grounds, there’s a huge building that holds bones of the deceased. I was intrigued yet creeped out by it. A part of me wanted to go in for the heck of it yet another part of me was like I’d rather not. I don’t know if an employee was actually manning the building but I couldn’t help but to be reminded of the woman that gave me a hostile look back in Fukuouka. Even if the building was open for everyone to visit, I certainly didn’t want to deal with a hostile look and wasn’t sure why I would even want to go in. This is the reason why I decided to just walk past the building and head towards the back of the temple grounds. Here, I saw many statues and an isolated shack/cabin that was borderline creepy.
As much as I wanted to avoid the cemetery, in the end, I couldn’t avoid it. Technically, I could have just reversed my steps to avoid the cemetery but I was like whatever.
I’m not sure what Japanese natives think of cemeteries but I feel they’re comfortable with it. Till this day, I still remember being weirded out by walking up and down stairs surrounded by cemeteries in Nagasaki.
I suppose it’s a good thing that they’re comfortable with it. If anything, their cemeteries don’t come off as creepy as the ones in the states.
For those of you interested in visting Nittaiji Temple, I recommend you to visit when they hold a monthly fair. The other thing worth mentioning to JR pass holders is that the temple isn’t accessible via JR so you’ll have to purchase tickets for a local line. It’s not that pricey but it’s something to keep in mind if you only want to visit places via JR.
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