Kokawadera Temple

Kokawadera Temple, in Kinokawa City north of Wakayama City, is the third temple on the Saigoku 33-temple Kannon pilgrimage circuit's northern route and one of the region's oldest Buddhist sites, with origins traced to the 8th century according to temple legend. The temple's main hall, a designated Important Cultural Property, sits behind a landscaped rock and stroll garden considered one of the finer surviving examples of Muromachi-period garden design in Wakayama, arranged with carefully placed stones and clipped shrubs meant to be viewed while walking a circular path around the grounds. Unlike many of the region's more visited temples, Kokawadera charges no admission fee, relying instead on visitor donations, which keeps the grounds relatively uncrowded even on weekends. A visit exploring the main hall, pagoda, and garden takes about an hour to ninety minutes at an unhurried pace. The garden is at its best in the soft, even light of a weekday morning, when few other visitors are present to disturb the quiet, contemplative atmosphere the space was designed to evoke; the temple grounds are also attractive in autumn when the surrounding foliage colors the hillside behind the main hall.