If you want to collect goshuin at Shoren-in Monzeki Temple, I would personally recommend visiting during the day. During special nighttime viewings, the goshuin available at the temple office are more likely to be prewritten. If you want one written for you on the spot, you have a better chance during the day.
The nighttime illumination is certainly beautiful, and the garden and buildings take on a very quiet, mysterious atmosphere under the dim lighting. However, the drawback is also obvious: many of the architectural details are difficult to see. If your main purpose is to appreciate Shoren-in itself, including its temple buildings, painted sliding panels, and gardens, I would actually recommend visiting during the day.
In addition to Kachoden Hall, Kogosho, the Main Hall, and Shinden Hall, Shoren-in’s grounds include a strolling pond garden centered on Ryujin Pond, traditionally said to have been designed by Soami. There is also the Kirishima Garden, which is traditionally associated with Kobori Enshu. These are all better appreciated slowly during the day, especially the details of the gardens, the proportions of the buildings, and the borrowed scenery, much of which is lost under the nighttime lighting.
Special nighttime viewings also usually cost a little more than regular daytime admission, so unless you are visiting specifically for the illumination, I personally think the overall value is better during the day. Of course, if you really enjoy the quiet and slightly mysterious atmosphere of temples at night, Shoren-in’s illumination is still worth experiencing once.
At the time, I did not have enough photography experience, and looking back now, I feel like I did not make the most of the illumination that evening. Shoren-in’s nighttime lighting is dim to begin with. In many areas, instead of lighting up an entire building, it uses localized lighting to create atmosphere. So if you want to take photos, it is best to prepare a camera or phone with good low-light capabilities. If there is not even much moonlight that day, the demands on your equipment and your ability to hold it steady will be even greater.
Shoren-in Monzeki Temple | Review by Holly
Other Reviews by Holly
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Tokyo Daijingu Shrine
Founded as a place in Tokyo to worship Ise Jingu remotely, this shrine is affectionately known as “Tokyo’s Ise Jingu.” It was the first shrine to hold a Shinto wedding ceremony, and in recent years, many women have visited to pray for luck in love.
I included Tokyo Daijingu Shrine in this trip mainly because it is quite well known among Tokyo’s shrines for finding love. It also has deep historical ties to Ise Jingu, so since I was already planning to visit Ise Jingu, I wanted to stop by here first and pray for good luck in love. I was also scheduled to attend a handicraft market in Zoshigaya that day, so after considering transportation and the direction of my itinerary, I decided to visit the shrine in the morning.
When I arrived, I found that the shrine grounds were a little smaller than I had imagined, but there were quite a lot of visitors. I also happened to see a couple holding a Shinto wedding ceremony that day, which was an unexpected bonus. There was a wide variety of love-themed omikuji, including basic love and matchmaking fortunes, as well as flower fortunes, blood type fortunes, and lucky matchmaking fortunes, so you can choose according to your preference. The shrine office also sold a wide selection of charms. The most famous is the “Enmusubi Suzuran Mamori,” but after looking for quite a while, I ultimately chose the “Enju Mamori,” which I personally preferred. The outer layer of this charm is made from a special cocoon silk, giving it a very delicate texture. It suited my taste better than the cute lily-of-the-valley charm.
There were also seats made from wooden posts next to the amulet office, allowing visitors to take a short break. It was a very thoughtful design. Perhaps because it was a holiday, there were consistently many visitors. By the time I was getting ready to leave, the line to pray at the main hall was several times longer than when I had arrived, showing just how popular this place really is.
One distinctive point is that although the shrine grounds are not large, the buildings are constructed in the shinmei-zukuri architectural style. The roofs and buildings themselves have a very strong presence, which made the space feel slightly oppressive to me. If buildings of the same scale were placed in a spacious setting like Ise Jingu, perhaps the feeling would not be as noticeable.
Also, my visit happened to be close to the Japanese New Year, and I unexpectedly saw craftspeople nearby making New Year’s pine decorations. It was my first time seeing the process of making this kind of traditional New Year’s decoration in person, and I found it quite interesting. Overall, the grounds of Tokyo Daijingu Shrine are not large, and around 20–40 minutes should be enough to pray, enjoy the surroundings, and shop for charms. If you happen to be planning an itinerary around Iidabashi, it may be worth stopping by. -
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Okayama Castle
This castle was created by Warlord Hideie Ukita in 1597. The main castle was built on top of a hill named Okayama, and the Tensyu (castle tower), was built in front of the Asahikawa River. The adjacent castle town was created with merchants and craftsmen.
The main reason I visited Okayama Castle this time was to attend a local sake event held inside the castle at night. You can take the streetcar to Shiroshita Station and then walk about 10 minutes to Okayama Castle. However, if you come at night, the route from Shiroshita Station to the castle isn’t particularly well lit. I found this stretch of the walk a little scary, and the lighting only noticeably increased after I actually entered the Okayama Castle and Ujo Park area. If you’re visiting at night, I recommend having your phone’s flashlight ready so you can at least feel safer while walking.
The castle tower you see at Okayama Castle today is a reconstruction. The original tower was destroyed in the 1945 air raid on Okayama and wasn’t rebuilt until 1966. Once inside, I felt it was more like a history museum themed around Okayama Castle. In addition to historical exhibits, there are also plenty of interactive activities and experiences, such as trying on samurai and princess costumes and riding in an Edo-period palanquin.
If you collect stamps from Japan’s 100 Famous Castles, you can get the Okayama Castle stamp here as well. The stamp is currently located near the reception area on the first basement floor. However, since it’s inside the paid area, you still need to purchase admission to use it. If you have the Okayama Enjoy Pass, you can use it here to redeem a package that includes admission to the Okayama Castle tower and a seasonal fruit parfait at Ujo Cafe.
However, rather than the castle tower itself, I found the truly interesting parts of Okayama Castle to be the remaining stone walls and castle ruins around it. The honmaru still has stone walls from different periods. You can see traces of the castle construction from the time of Ukita Hideie, sections left from later expansions by the Ikeda clan, and even excavated stone walls and markings left by stonemasons. Looking closely at the stone walls actually gives you a stronger sense of how Okayama Castle changed under different lords and through different eras. Compared with the reconstructed castle tower, I personally felt that these unassuming stone walls and ruins were more distinctive of Okayama Castle. -
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Mt. Otowa Kiyomizu-dera Temple
Opened in the year 778, the temple was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site in 1994. In the 130, 000 m2 area of the precincts spread out on the hillside of Mt. Otowa, there are more than 30 cathedrals and monuments, including national treasures and important cultural properties.
Kiyomizu-dera is always crowded, but even so, I still highly recommend that first-time visitors to Kyoto come here at least once. The temple’s architecture is truly distinctive, especially the Main Hall and Kiyomizu Stage, which were built into the mountainside. Actually standing there and experiencing their scale is completely different from simply looking at photos.
However, if you’re traveling with older people, I’d recommend taking their stamina into consideration. Kiyomizu-dera is located at the foot of Mt. Otowa, after all, and entering from the regular visitor entrance still involves walking uphill for a while. The temple has actually made considerable efforts to improve accessibility. Wheelchairs can enter via the emergency access road above Chawan-zaka, and there is also a step-free route near the Main Hall. Compared with other temples I’ve visited, the accessibility here is quite comprehensive. However, because of the temple’s sloping terrain and historic buildings, making it completely accessible is still difficult.
The temple grounds are also larger than you might expect, and since this is one of Kyoto’s most popular attractions, you may have to wait in line in many places. Otowa Waterfall, for example, is very popular, and each of its three streams is associated with a different wish, so you’ll usually see people lined up there. If you want to avoid the crowds as much as possible, arriving earlier or later may help, but Kiyomizu-dera is so popular that you may still encounter quite a few visitors even around 8:00 a.m. Still, the experience is usually better than during the busiest hours of the day.
As for transportation, I personally wouldn’t recommend driving. There is no parking lot on the temple grounds. Although there are Kyoto municipal parking lots and other privately operated lots nearby, spaces can be hard to find during busy periods. Even if you do manage to park, you’ll still have to walk some distance uphill, since you can’t drive directly up to the temple gate. -
