Senkōji

photo by lienyuan lee · CC BY 3.0

photo by そらみみ · CC BY-SA 4.0

At the top of the boulder, a 14 cm hole recalls the legendary gem that once shone there.

Beside the temple stands the Tama-no-iwa (‘gem rock’), the third-largest boulder on the mountain: 50 metres in circumference, 15 in height. Legend has it that a wish-granting gem shone on its top every night, visible from the sea and used by sailors as a natural lighthouse; today there remains a hole 14 cm in diameter and 17 deep, where it is said to have been set, and in its place a glass gem lights up in three colours as evening falls. The ropeway links the centre of Onomichi to Senkōji Park in three minutes; from there the ‘path of literature’ leads to the temple in about five minutes on foot, past plaques bearing lines by writers who loved the city.

A Buddhist temple founded according to tradition in 806, on Mount Taiho-san above the port of Onomichi, looking out over the islands of the Seto Inland Sea.

ℹ️ Temple open 9:00–17:00. Ropeway: 500 yen one way, 700 yen return for adults (250/350 yen for children).

🚉 Onomichi · 14 min walk

Sources: senkouji.jp · senkouji.jp · ononavi.jp

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