Tanukidani-San Fudō-In Temple

Unclaimed

If you like Tanuki, this would be the perfect temple to visit. It is quite close to Ginkakuji. Beautiful greenery. A lot of stairs, but I think worth the effort. You can see probably hundreds of them hiding as you walk along. Very serene.

Awesome place in the middle of a forested hill. Visited the place for the Hiwatari Matsuri (Fire festival) in the middle of the summer of July. Even at 7pm when it started it was ridiculously hot. Long and steep climb to the top. Was glad we took a taxi to get most of the way up in the hot weather. Get water at the vending machine at the base of the steps.

This temple is a nice, hidden temple, tucked away in the northeastern mountains of Kyoto. It’s somewhat out of repair, but it’s still worth a hike if you’re looking for something interesting in addition to the main temples and shrines in the city. Notable are the 250+ stairs you need to climb to get to the top, and the large deck on the main building - it’s the same construction as the more popular Kiyomizudera temple.

The unique Japanese style of temple architecture, built along steep cliffs and mountain slopes, is similar in appearance to Kiyomizu Temple, which is built in the same way. The fire-walking festival is held on July 28 every year to pray for family safety and good health, and the flame of the bush lantern goma burns out.