Pop Japan

Literally means "hot spring temple," the Onsen-ji Temple, used to be a place where people pray first before going to the local bath house. The practice emerged because of a legend. The temple is said to be dedicated to a Buddhist saint, who was said to have aided Kinosaki during a time of draught. The saint was said to have prayed non-stop for a thousand days just to bring water to the Kinosaki district of Hyogo Prefecture.

The main attraction of the temple is the eleven-headed Kannon Buddha, standing around two meters. But its beauty is not available all the time to the public. The Buddha is displayed only for travelers for a span of three years every 33 years.

Photo by 663highland. Licensed under Creative Commons. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.ja)

Tags: hot spring temple, onsen ji temple, local bath house, buddhist saint, kinosaki, hyogo prefecture, kannon buddha, buddha