Raizan Sennyoji Daihioin is a Shingon Buddhist temple on the wooded northern slope of Mount Raizan, in the hills south of the town. Temple tradition traces its origins back well over a thousand years, when Mount Raizan was a major centre of mountain worship with hundreds of monks’ lodgings.
Visitors come for three things. The first is the great maple in front of the main building, said to be about 400 years old and to have been planted by a lord of the Fukuoka domain; it is a natural monument of Fukuoka Prefecture and turns a deep, glowing red in autumn. The second is the temple’s principal image, a wooden standing Thousand-armed Kannon nearly five metres tall, an Important Cultural Property. The third is the quiet Shinji garden and the hillside of small stone rakan — disciples of the Buddha — each with a different face.
Top things to do: Raizan Sennyoji Temple
See the great maple
The tree fills the courtyard and overhangs the temple roofs. Fresh green in May is lovely and uncrowded; the famous red peaks in roughly mid-November, when the temple is the busiest place in Itoshima.
Enter the Kannon hall
After paying the entrance fee you follow covered corridors through the buildings to the hall of the Thousand-armed Kannon, where a priest often gives a short explanation in Japanese. Photography is not allowed inside the halls.
Walk the garden and the five hundred rakan
The route continues past the Shinji garden, laid out around a pond, and up to the terraces of rakan statues. Take time to look at the faces — no two are alike.
Pair it with Shiraito Falls
Shiraito Falls is a short drive away on the next hillside, and the two make a natural half-day in the hills.
How to get there
- By car: about 20 minutes from Chikuzen-Maebaru Station; around 50 minutes from central Fukuoka. Parking is limited, and in the autumn-leaf season traffic controls and long queues are normal.
- By bus: the Itoshima community bus (Raizan line) runs from Chikuzen-Maebaru Station to the Raizan Kannon-mae stop near the temple. There are only a few buses a day; extra services sometimes run in the autumn season. Check the current timetable.
- By tour: several coach tours from Fukuoka include the temple with Shiraito Falls and the coast.
Insider tips
- There is an entrance fee of a few hundred yen for the halls and garden; bring cash.
- You take your shoes off to enter the buildings — wear socks, and expect cold wooden floors in autumn and winter.
- In mid-November go on a weekday and arrive at opening time, or expect to queue on the road.
- This is an active place of worship. Keep voices low inside and follow the no-photography signs.
Best tours & tickets: Raizan Sennyoji Temple
These top-rated experiences are the easiest way to see Raizan Sennyoji Temple and the rest of Itoshima:
Bus day trip from US$50 Coastal Escape: Itoshima Peninsula One Day Tour from Kyushu
A guided day from Fukuoka that pairs Itoshima’s two big hill sights — Shiraito Falls and Sennyoji Daihioin temple — with the Totoro forest trail and the coastline. A good choice in autumn, when the temple’s maple is at its best.
- Shiraito Falls
- Sennyoji Daihioin temple
- The Totoro forest trail
Bus day trip from US$44 Fukuoka: Itoshima Shiraito Falls, Meoto Iwa & Fukuoka Tower
The best-value way to see Itoshima without a car. A coach leaves Fukuoka in the morning, climbs to the 24-metre Shiraito Falls and Raizan Sennyoji temple, then drops to the coast for the palm-tree swing and the white torii and married rocks of Sakurai Futamigaura, finishing at Fukuoka Tower.
- Shiraito Falls and Raizan Sennyoji temple in the hills
- The white torii and married rocks at Sakurai Futamigaura
- The palm-tree swing on the coast, then Fukuoka Tower
Bus day trip from US$76 Kyushu Tour from Fukuoka: Itoshima Nature & Coastal Scenery
The most-reviewed Itoshima day tour on GetYourGuide. The route links a waterfall, forest and an old temple in the hills with the palm-tree swing and the seaside photo spots of the coast, giving a rounded picture of the peninsula in a single day from Fukuoka.
- Waterfall and forest scenery
- An ancient hillside temple
- The palm-tree swing and the seaside photo spots
