Today I made a short excursion in the beautifully-maintained and very ancient Tochoji Temple. It is located in Gokusho-machi - Hakata-ku, near Gion subway station.

On the second floor of the building on the right side you can find the largest seated Buddha sculpture in Japan. It consists completely of wood and is really very impressive. If you are in Fukuoka, this place is really well worth a visit. The best is the path that goes through the buddha. There is a Hell and Heaven exhibition, featuring paintings with various hell motifs. The way out is completely dark, I have to felt my way through this narrow path - but at the end there is a enlightening experience.

A SHORT HISTORY
Purportedly the Tochoji Temple was founded 806 by Kobo-Daishi on his return from Tang Dynasty China. It is a family temple of the Kuroda family, lord of Fukuoka province and also called Nangankuzan. At first, it was situated on the seashore and later	relocated to the present location by Kuroda Tadayuko. Each month, on the 28th, the doors of the buildings are opened and you can view the six Buddhist Statues. > This Information is from the Fukuoka Hakata Tourist Information, found on http://yokanavi.com/eg/theme/detail/204n.

	The bright orange pagoda tower.
	Big Buddha The statue is 10,8 meters in height and 30 tons in weigth. The carving took 4 years to finish. Unfortunatly you can't make picture, so I've found this here >  http://www.city.fukuokaa.lg.jp/showcase/index.html
	The information board in front of the temple. You can inform about the history and the location of the temple.