Minobusan Kuonji Temple

Minobusan Kuonji Temple, the head temple of Nichiren Buddhism, sits in the mountains of Minobu Town about 55 kilometers south of Kofu and is reached by the JR Minobu Line from Kofu Station to Minobu Station, a slow single-track journey of about 90 minutes (¥1,340/$8.40), followed by a roughly 15-minute bus or taxi ride to the temple itself. Founded in 1281 by Nichiren, the sect's founder, after he retreated to Mount Minobu, the temple complex includes a large main hall, a five-story pagoda, and a monumental staircase of 287 stone steps known as the Bodai-tei leading up to the main precinct, alongside a cable car (ropeway) that climbs separately to the Okuno-in Shishinkaku on the summit of Mount Minobu for a wider mountain panorama and, on clear days, a distant view toward Mount Fuji. The temple remains an active pilgrimage site for Nichiren Buddhists nationwide, and the approach town below the temple has a row of shukubo temple lodgings and shops selling temple-associated sweets and religious goods, giving the visit the atmosphere of a living pilgrimage town rather than a purely historical site. A typical day involves climbing the stone stairway to the main hall in the morning, exploring the temple precinct's halls and gardens, then riding the ropeway to Okuno-in for the summit view before returning to Minobu Station in the afternoon; the full round trip from Kofu, including a couple of hours at the temple and summit, takes most of a day given the JR Minobu Line's slow, infrequent service. Because Minobu Line trains run only every 1 to 2 hours, checking the timetable before departing Kofu is essential to avoid a long wait for the return train, and travelers with less time may prefer to treat this as a half-day trip focused solely on the main temple precinct without the ropeway summit extension.