Our next planned stop is Yamaguchi, also known as the Kyoto of Western Japan due to the number of temples and shrines in the area. We plan to stop at one of them, Ruriko-ji, which has one of the top three pagodas in Japan. On the way we notice one of the interesting fake workers/policemens that the Japanese place at the beginning of working zones on roads. The policeman actually moves the sign and it looks lifelike enough from a distance.
After arriving at Ruriko-ji we find a parking spot and then we have to pass through a quiet park full of stone lanterns. There are a few statues that a Japanese couple are praying too but we don’t know what they represent so we pass them and continue towards Ruriko-ji and the famous five-story pagoda.
First we walk to the pagoda as it is visible in the distance passing a few more statues of famous Japanese, or so we assume.
The pagoda is impressive but to us it doesn’t look that different from the other pagoda’s we have seen. Of course those were also some of the top ones in Japan so maybe we are just spoiled.
Either way we walk around it and up to it taking a look at the ancient carvings around the base. We cannot enter the pagoda so after making a circle around it it is time to move on.
We then explore the park a bit more before entering Ruriko-ji temple. While exploring we find an interesting cemetery, interesting because it is both similar and different from a Western cemetery.
Ruriko-ji is a small temple but it is cozy and is beautifully landscaped with some pictoresque ponds and we are glad that we entered to visit it.
It also has a cold drinks vending machine from which we buy some grape sodas and then sit on a bench enjoying the scenery and the ponds especially. After relaxing a bit we move on to our last goal for the day the Akiyoshidai karst plateau.
