The Kunisaki peninsula in Oita Prefecture is the birthplace of Shinbutsu mix culture, a fusion of “God” and “Buddha.”
Especially Futagoji is recently popular place as a power spot.
In here will introduce why it’s popular, what luck you can get here & what is the point of seeing here.
Nio statue standing with a powerful appearance
The Kunisaki peninsula in Oita Prefecture has many temples and stone Buddha and is called as “Buddha village”.
Futagoji is located in the middle of Buddha village and the Futagoji forest is nominated as 100 selections of forest bathing in Japan so you can enjoy the view of all seasons there.
I visited in the winter but I think the best season should be autumn. This place is also known as a famous spot to see the autumn leaves in Oita.
Gomadou is a full power spot of charity, but the eleven-faced thousand-armed Kannon enshrined in the main shrine of the Okunoin, and Ryosho Daigongen have been worshiped of child-giving since from ancient times.
Futagoji has admirable Nio statue at the side of the shrine approach this is the first point you must see there.
Nio statue whose height is more than 2ｍ has names “A” & “Un” Nio statue is the symbol of Futagoji and used to say that if you touch their leg your leg also becomes strong.
Even at the Nio foot there is a display showing “The worshiper who has a bad foot, please rub the foot & leg of the statue of Nio and treat it to become strong foot/leg.” Not so many steps here but why not touch and get the strength.
The stone steps along to the gate have moss and during the fresh green season, it will fusion with the surrounding nature and become a peaceful and relaxed power spot. In the winter season also the quiet environment enhances healing & relaxing.
Futagoji has a parking lot (if you only come for worship maybe this place is good to park) but if you park here you cannot see the Nio statue until the top. If you want to see the Nio statue from the parking lot you need to step down the steps and slopes.
This Nio statue reminds me of the Japanese comic GANTZ.
The stone steps and slopes will be very slippery on rainy days or snow days so please be careful to walk. I walked the gravel road which is the aisle side of the slope.
The restroom is only at the parking lot you better go first before you go to the Okunoin.
Okunoin
To go to Okunoin you need to walk aside of river at Futagoji.
You can see the big stone bridge whose name is “Onibashi” on your right side. In English, it can say demon bridge.
It is a large stone that is said to have been pulled down from the mountain and made into a bridge by a powerful monk named Sentokubo.
When you go up the Onibashi step you can see torii which is connected to Okunoin.
Actually this view is very mysterious. At the beginning, I mentioned that The Kunisaki peninsula in Oita Prefecture is the birthplace of Shinbutsu Shugo, a fusion of “God” and “Buddha.”
Unfortunately, detail of Futagoji is only written in Japanese.
It’s difficult for me to explain but to say simply the culture in Futagoji is “Treat Buddha as God” & “Treat God as Buddha” and caused to create the Shinbutsu mix culture.
This torii which is connected to Okunoin is the evidence of a mix of culture.
After going through the torii you can see steep slope steps. This is the place where you demonstrate the power earned from the Nio statue.
It’s not so hard compared with the longest step in Japan at Kumamoto.
In Kumamoto there is the longest step which is 3,333 steps and at the top there is a shrine
Kumamoto onsen trip#1 challenging to the longest stairs in Japan
The Eleven-faced Senju Kanzeon Bosatsu is enshrined in the “Okunoin”, which is made by hollowing out rocks. There is a belief in child-giving, and in recent years it has become famous as a power spot for child-giving.
Right behind Okunoin there is a cave.
You might feel creepy because dark but it’s a sacred place so don’t worry. The cave is not too deep you can see the fountain which is immortal water.
Futagoji basic info
Address：1548 Akimachi Futago, Kunisaki, Oita 873-0356, Japan
Visiting time：8:30 ～ 16:30
Fee：300円
Visiting time is depends on COVID-19. Currently, 2022 February is still the same.
The place of Futagoji is 30-minute drive from Oita airport. On the way there are a few points where the road is narrow so drive safely.
When you take a flight to come to Oita, Oita airport is the entrance to Oita prefecture. Futagoji is just around 30 minutes by car so you can visit at the beginning of the trip or on the way back from your trip.
If you are going to Beppu city you should better go to Jigoku (hell) round trip. In below link it is explains how to go and how to stay around.
Other than that Beppu has an amazing aquarium especially the show of walrus and steller sea lion show was very fun.
Please check if you are interested in the above.
2022 Beppu Onsen recommend course for Jigoku trip
Oita Marine Palace Aquarium “Umitamago” is an enjoyable place to go in Beppu
Japan offers a wide variety of sweets. You will probably have a hard time deciding which to buy: chocolate, candy, biscuits, or traditional Japanese sweets. Also, some are seasonal, which will make you even more confused.
There is a website that summarizes what is the best Japanese sweets, and we hope you will enjoy Japanese sweets with this website.
Japanese snacks lab
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