Tochoji Temple

Tochoji Temple offers free admission, but there is a fee to visit the Great Buddha on the second floor. Photography and videography are prohibited on the second floor, where you can also purchase omamori (protective charms). The Great Buddha of Fukuoka is the largest wooden seated Buddha statue in Japan, and there is an explanation of the production process next to the statue. Below the Great Buddha is the Hell and Paradise World, which features paintings depicting the intersection of yin and yang, the judgment of King Yama, and scenes of hell. There is a Japanese audio guide that plays on a loop, but I couldn't understand it very well. The journey ends with a passage through darkness, symbolizing the transition to the Pure Land, which is quite interesting. The main deity, the Thousand-Armed Kannon, is housed in the main hall next door. It is an important cultural property of Japan, carved during the Heian period from a single piece of cypress wood, and is very solemn.