Rinnoji Temple

I have mixed feelings of Rinnoji Temple in Nikko. Yes, the temple made it as a World Heritage site. Yes, the temple is big. Yes, the temple has other locations within Nikko associated with it. Yes, the temple has a nice garden in its grounds. No, the temple does not allow you to take photos of it…

At this point, I look back on my visit to Rinnoji Temple in Nikko and question the point of “no pictures”. I understand that many “sacred” places in Japan don’t want you taking pictures of the insides of their temple or shrine, but there comes a time when I start to question if it’s all a marketing ploy. Is it? Like, is the rule partially in place to prevent footage of the temple being posted onto YouTube and the likes? In other words, is it not just to protect the intricacy of these sacred sites but also to limit the amount of people that get to “see” these sacred sites for free online? Logical question, here.

Don’t get me wrong. I do understand that some artifacts inside these sacred places of worship are fragile to the point that they can’t risk being exposed to any form of photography, especially flash photography. But I think I also am making a valid point here. Religious sites aside, even the no photography rule at Tokyo Disney Sea in some areas was a whoozy and a major turn off for me. Like, what is the big deal with me capturing a memory or two here? And at a “Disneyland” of all places! Are you for real?

I understand how some people can go overboard with photography and videography when they aren’t even influencers. However, I also understand normal everyday people that just want to capture a Kodak moment.

When it comes to Rinnoji Temple, I of course don’t have any photos to show you with an exception to their garden and an exterior area that is accessible to everyone. It sucks because with the help of photos, you can better recall what you did and saw. I recall the temple undergoing some type of interior construction at the time which meant that I probably didn’t get my money’s worth. I also recall waiting in a long line before actually being able to get inside the temple. I remember a guide being with us to explain various things. I obviously didn’t understand since it wasn’t in English. I can’t recall but it seems like there may have been an English speaking guide but we would have had to wait a lot longer for this specific guide and figured we’d make do with a Japanese speaking guide.

Inside the temple, on an honesty system, you could purchase a fortune. It was reasonably priced and I was happy with what I got. My travel companion and I were having fun with what we got and I recall someone near us giving us looks. Typical. It’s something I came to notice of natives visiting Nikko; they have an issue with anyone “different”. Heck, I even caught a guy that was a lot younger than me telling me off without telling me off. This guy that was probably still living under his parents’ full support was non-verbally telling me off for some reason. What is the problem? The problem wasn’t me. The problem was people not being able to understand that there are people out there in this world that are “different” from them. If that didn’t leave a bitter aftertaste in my mouth, I don’t know what did. (Correction: There were a lot of things that left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth during my time in Nikko.)

I also had an interesting experience with their staff when I needed help with visiting their sister site in Nikko, but I’ll leave that story for another entry.

So, do I recommend you to visit Rinnoji Temple? If you’re someone that likes to take pictures, I don’t recommend you to bother paying to go inside the temple. You can see the exterior for free and take as many photos there instead. (The temple’s garden, which is only accessible from inside the temple isn’t that big of a deal to miss out on. Of course, if you happen to be in Nikko when there aren’t many tourists around and desperately want to see the insides of this specific World Heritage site, it may then be reasonable enough to do so. One word of advice, though: Do not pay for a combination ticket for the sister temple. Reason: You can buy it on site instead, which is better than paying in advance for it should you not have enough time to visit the sister temple. Also, the female employee at the sister temple is rude, which I’ll write all about in another entry of mine’s.