Tokoji Temple

Tokoji temple is a playful and traditional Buddhist temple around the corner from the Hotaka train station. It is a wonderful example of an intimate and historic local temple in Nagano with a unique and contemporary twist.

There is an installation of giant orange geta sandals (traditional Japanese sandals often worn with kimonos) which can be played on or posed with for pictures. There are also various life size characters which you can put your face in for photographs.

While the entrance space is playful there is an impressively kept Japanese garden circling the courtyard and a beautiful cemetery adjacent to the temple.