Otagi Nenbutsu-ji

The walk up from the bamboo grove passes through actual residential Sagano with thatched-roof farmhouses and almost no tourists — the route is as much the experience as the destination.

The temple dates back to 766, when it was originally located in the Otagi district of Kyoto city. It was moved several times due to flood damage and fires before being reconstructed at its current location in Sagano in 1922. The head priest Nishimura Kocho, who took charge in 1955, undertook a decades-long project to restore and expand the stone statue collection: he first carved 200 rakan himself, then between 1981 and 1991 invited approximately 1,200 amateur craftspeople from across Japan to carve their own statue under basic instruction. The result is a statuary collection unlike anything else — some rakan meditate solemnly, others grin, laugh, hold cameras, or look mischievous. The diversity of expression is the point.

At the front of the grounds, a stone Nitenno guardian and the main hall anchor the ensemble. Behind them, the rakan fill every slope, crevice, and corner of a densely forested hillside in tiers. Finding individual statues with particularly expressive faces becomes a slow game. The moss on the oldest stone adds to the sense that the figures have been there far longer than they have.

The temple is close to Adashino Nenbutsu-ji — about 10 minutes on foot through the Sagano preservation area — and the two sites make a natural pairing: one (Adashino) ancient and contemplative, the other (Otagi) recent and playful. Admission ¥300; open 9:00–17:00. Access: Kyoto Bus 94 to the Toriimoto stop from Arashiyama, or a 45-minute walk north from the bamboo grove along the preserved street.