Onomichi 2019: Temple Walk, Part 3

For my last couple of hours in Onomichi I wandered around visiting temples in the eastern part of the city (for the previous posts on my Onomichi temple walk please see part 1 and part 2). The temples were cool to visit but it was also interesting to be walking through the narrow streets and see how the locals decorated their homes.

The temples that I visited next were Misode Tenmangu and Taisanji. These two are right next to each other and you might mistake them for being a single temple. From the top of Misode Tenmangu there’s a nice view of the eastern part of Onomichi.

I then meandered around Onomichi a bit more before arriving at Saikokuji in the northeastern part of town. This was the largest temple I visited in Onomichi and it doesn’t seem to get many visitors due to its location but for me it was one of the standouts during my temple walk. Saikokuji is a beautiful temple and worth the hike required to reach it. The path up to the temple’s pagoda was blocked off for construction but most of the temple grounds were open and at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the temple is a gate with giant straw sandals hanging on it.

As I was wrapping up my day in Onomichi I stopped by Josenji Temple for a quick visit. Josenji is one of the temples that are not on the temple route and the railroad runs right in front of its main entrance. Below the temple is a graveyard with a small bell tower.

By this time it was getting late in the afternoon and I began heading back towards Onomichi’s train station. Along the way I passed some smaller temples hidden among the city buildings and I walked through a covered shopping street. In total I think I visited around 25 of the 33 temples on Onomichi’s temple walk, so I didn’t see all of them but I managed to fit most into my day. Hiking around Onomichi isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea and many of the temples on the route are only worth a brief stop but if you’ve already seen the bigger attractions in the Chugoku region of Japan and want to get slightly off the beaten path I’d suggest giving Onomichi a chance.