Ishiteji Temple

The 51st temple of the 88 Shikoku pilgrimage temple, and known as the national treasure. Admission to the temple is free. At the entrance leading to the temple compound, be sure to look up to the ceiling to appreciate the amazing ancient wooden structure. There are a lot to see in this temple, many parts of the temple to view and appreciate its beauty in it’s ancient space. We spent an-hour here which is clearly not sufficient to explore and really enjoy this treasure. We also managed to stroll through the underground tunnel - a 160-meter-long cave, there are ancient statues are seen displayed along this cave. At the end of long-cave (from the temple compound) you will meet a n ancient stone statue which act like a door for the long-cave and a modern tarred road. During our visit here, people in their white Japanese pilgrimage attire are seen doing their pilgrimage stops to do their worshipping. There’s another dark ‘cave’ to explore - go in calmly and feel the peacefulness while walking through it. At the other side of the temple, you will huge modern statues of various Buddhas. There’s a museum within this buddhist temple compound which housed more than 1,000 treasures, admission is 200 yen (at point of writing this). When opportunity permits, we will surely come back again to this beautiful treasure.

A 700 year old temple with many experiences to try. They have many statues, Bhuddhist-art pieces and interesting buildings. One thing is a dark cave to help you reach a mindfulness state.

Beautiful temple that is also quite kids friendly as there is lots of different areas to explore and 2 very narrow long tunnels to walk through .

It's was a quiet place and all the pilgrim left from the ancient decades was still looking good, It's better place to come and visit for those who like to travel and explores different temple in Japan. It's easy to go in the place cause its just a long the way you just only ride a bus from the train station and stop at ishite temple ¥220.

The most chaotic temple I've visited. Make sure to visit the cave ($1 voluntary entrance fee)
You can walk from Dogo station and there is a nice Family Mart with a seat en route.

A must go experience. The cave is really cool. Do you before 4.30pm because they will be closing.

This temple is poorly maintained. The tunnel cave has two branches in an L shape: the east-west branch pops out behind two temple buildings, and the north-south branch exits on the far side of the hill with no signage.
It's a fascinating place, I recommend it as a unique experience.

Very original temple. Was recommend by a traveler I met who did the whole pilgrimmage and I didn't regret going even undet the rain.

It was such an interesting religious place to go to relax. It was a walk away from dogo onsen but still easy to get to. The cave you can walk in was super fun. It was fun seeing the different religious structures here.

Temple #51 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage Route. Be careful of Cave 2. It is very dark.

One of the temple of the 88 pilgrimage. I've enjoyed it very much as it felt difference compared to the other temples i've visited in Japan, there's a different atmosphere.

One of the pilgrimage points of the Shikoku Ohenro.

Wonderfully quiet temple in the middle of Matsuyama. It has a lot of artefacts left by the pilgrims to the temple.

Absolutely beautiful! I was happy to finish my day of temples with this one. There is even a place to eat lunch.

This temple is huge and when you begin to think you've seen it all, something new appears. Take time to explore! 🙂 It is at its best in early morning hours when it's almost empty only for one or two pilgrims who you can have very interesting chats with.

Beautiful temple with many different buildings.

Fascinating, quirky, free, although a bit out of the way. There's also a cave and little bamboo woods behind the temple hillside.

Beautiful place. Don't forget the cave. It's a big adventure.

This is my favorite temple that I've visited in Japan. It is very large. There are so many nooks and crannies to see. This is my second time coming here and unfortunately I already seem to gone when most parts are closed. I saw much more this time than I did last time though. If you can come during a festival I can only imagine how wonderful it would be.

Wonderful place to be spiritually blessed.