North Tokushima · NarutoNo.1048★★★Open in map →
Ryozenji Temple
— Temple 1 of the Shikoku pilgrimage
The first of the 88 temples on Shikoku's pilgrimage loop, in northern Tokushima. Most walkers start here, and the shop on the grounds sells the white robes and staffs the route is known for.
- FromTokushima Station
- ~30 minJR local train, then a 10-min walk
- Get off atBando Station (JR Kotoku Line)
- On foot
- Ryozenji Temple
Where it is
13 more notes in Tokushima · open the map →What to look for — in walking order
- Nio Gatethe roofed entrance gate, the formal start of the circuit for those walking it
- Hojo ponda still pond just inside the gate, with the halls reflected on windless days
- Main hallrows of hanging lanterns beneath a dragon painted across the ceiling
- Daishi hallthe hall dedicated to Kobo Daishi, visited after the main hall in order
- Two-storey pagodaa compact tahoto pagoda standing at the quiet back edge of the grounds
How to actually get there
- Tokushima Station to Bando Station on the JR Kotoku Line, local train toward Takamatsu.
- Bando Station to Ryozenji, about a ten-minute walk northwest.
- Walk the grounds in order: gate, pond, main hall, Daishi hall, pagoda.
- If you want a second temple, continue on foot to the next one on the circuit.
- JR Kotoku Line from Tokushima Station
- Take a local train on the JR Kotoku Line from Tokushima Station toward Takamatsu and get off at Bando. Limited express trains pass through Bando without stopping, so check that the train you board is a local. From the station it is about a ten-minute walk to the temple gate.
- Back from Bando Station
- Walk back to Bando and take the JR Kotoku Line south to Tokushima. Bando is a small country station and trains are not frequent. Note the departure times on the platform board when you arrive, and plan the return around them rather than turning up on spec.
About the place
The Shikoku pilgrimage links 88 temples in a loop around the whole island. The full circuit runs about 1,400 kilometres and crosses all four prefectures of Shikoku. Tokushima holds the first 23 temples, and this leg carries the old province name, Awa, and the label the training ground of resolve. Ryozenji is the first of them. The grounds are compact — a gate, a pond, two halls and a pagoda, all within a few minutes of each other — and they are open to anyone, pilgrim or not. Most people who arrive in white are on the first morning of a very long walk.
How to enjoy it
Walking every temple takes more than 40 days, so most people split the route across several trips, a way of going called kugiri-uchi. Coming for Ryozenji alone still works: it is a half-day trip out of Tokushima, and the outfitters on the grounds are where the robes, stoles and staffs are sold. If you want a second temple in the same day, the next one on the circuit is close enough to reach on foot.
Background & history
Temple records place the founding in the Tenpyo era, between 729 and 749, under the monk Gyoki. In 815 the priest Kukai is said to have practised here and given the temple its mountain name, Jikuwasan, meaning the sacred peak of India carried over to Japan. The two-storey pagoda on the grounds dates from the Oei era. In 2015 the pilgrimage itself was listed as a Japan Heritage story by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, which put the temples and the road between them into a single narrative.
Before you go
- Cash
- The stamp office and the pilgrim outfitters on the grounds handle robes, stoles, staffs and stamp books, and all of it is paid. Cash is the safe assumption. Bando is a small station, so buy or top up whatever you need in Tokushima before setting out.
- Before you go
- The grounds are outdoors with little shelter from rain. Pilgrims are often reciting sutras in front of the halls, so it is worth waiting a beat before raising a camera. Winter mornings here are cold.
- Another way
- From the Takamatsu side the same JR Kotoku Line runs south to Bando, so the temple can be reached from either end of the line. By car the nearest exit is Itano on the Takamatsu Expressway, a few minutes away.
- After you get off
- From Bando Station, walk northwest for about ten minutes on flat streets. The temple stands beside the prefectural road, and the gate is visible from it.