Although it's in a slightly inconvenient location, this temple is worth visiting. For those with cars, there's a large parking lot, making it convenient. Mount Fuji looked incredibly beautiful. The admission fee is 400 yen, but the building is impressive, and you could spend hours admiring the vivid paintings, Buddha statues, sliding doors, and fixtures inside. The garden is spacious, and you can see many plants, including well-grown cycads, cacti, pines, and linden trees. Apparently there are also many Japanese toads, so I'd like to come in the summer and hear their calls. You can sit and rest on the veranda or in chairs. The sound of the wind chimes was soothing. It was nice and quiet, with few people around, perhaps because it was a weekday. Tea was served when I left. 2025.11
The last time I stopped by, it was too late, so I couldn't see the temple, so this time I took my husband on a Sunday. 🙌⤴️⤴️
After passing through the Sanmon gate, there's the temple office, where you can buy your admission ticket and proceed. After purifying yourself at the chozuya (water purification fountain), you can enter the main hall. ☝️ Inside, the ceiling is covered in paintings! (The photo is intentionally taken backwards, as the names of the donors are included.) Nirvana and birth paintings were painted on both sides of the walls. 😄
From the main hall, we moved to the next building, where history and photographs were displayed, including a photo of Emperor Showa before his accession to the throne. 🤔 After looking inside, we walked around the outside, and a sign by the large cactus said that there's also a Longhua Temple in Shanghai, so it makes sense that the ceiling paintings were more Chinese. 🙆 The tombs of great men (sorry... I forgot their names) You can also walk to the temple grounds, and the view of Mt. Fuji from there was amazing! 🤩🤩🤩
Just before the exit, there were lots of beautiful carp, and you could buy some carp food from the office. ☝️ (There are two, so please share some with them. ☺️)
We had ice cream at the temple office, chatted with the shopkeeper, and bought a pre-written goshuin (temple seal). We had a relaxing time. 😄 The admission fee and goshuin together came to about ¥800 per person. Parking is available in front of the temple gate.
As the mountain name "Kan Toyama" suggests, Mt. Fuji can be seen beautifully from the high ground within the temple grounds. There is the largest and oldest of the three major cycads in Japan, as well as the oldest cactus in Japan, both of which are well worth seeing. Another attraction is that you can take your time to appreciate them from any direction you like. Most of the temple grounds are made up of a strolling garden, and you can see the ingenuity put into the enjoyment of visitors everywhere. Perhaps the good weather allowed for a clear view of Mt. Fuji, but it is a good temple where you can worship comfortably.
Although it is off the train line, it is surprisingly easy to access. Take a bus bound for Kunozanshita from JR Shimizu Station or Shizutetsu Shinshimizu Station, and get off at the Ryugeji bus stop. Kunozanshita is the closest bus stop to the entrance to Kunozan Toshogu Shrine's main approach, and you can enjoy the spectacular view of Suruga Bay while worshiping. Recently, many people seem to take the ropeway via Nihon-daira to worship, but if you can walk normally, it is definitely more atmospheric to go via Omotesando. It would be nice to visit Kunozan Toshogu Shrine first thing in the morning, and then stop by Ryugeji Temple. The grounds of Ryugeji Temple face east, with the mountains rising to the west at its back, so the shadows fall on the grounds as the sun goes down. When I visited just after 2 p.m. on a winter day, the area around the cycads and cacti was mostly in the shade. If I have another opportunity, I would like to visit before noon.
I wasn't able to get a handwritten goshuin due to the chief priest's schedule, but even paying ¥400 for it is a facility packed with things to see. Everything about it is overwhelming.
I visited Ryugeji Temple in Kiyomizu (^^)/. As soon as I passed through the temple gate, I found the reception desk, where I was able to pay the admission fee and temple seal fee at the ticket machine. There was a small rest area called the Temple Cafe at the reception, but it was closed today. The grounds were very spacious, well-maintained, and had a dignified feel. I was also able to enter the main hall, and the painting on the ceiling was a masterpiece.
