Kawasaki Daishi: the temple that wards off evil

The day, in order

1. Early morning

   The gate and the main hall

   Kawasaki Daishi is the common name of Heiken-ji, a temple of the Chisan school of Shingon Buddhism founded in 1128 and known across the region for warding off evil. The four heavenly kings stand in the gate, and the main hall holds the image of Kobo Daishi at its centre. Come early: the courtyard is quiet, and the smell of incense has not yet built up.

   Read the city guide →
2. Morning

   The fire rite

   A goma rite is held in the main hall every day, prayers written on wooden sticks burned while the priests chant. You do not need to be a believer to watch: sit at the back and stay for one round. The temple asks for quiet rather than participation.

3. Late morning

   The halls around the courtyard

   The octagonal five-storey pagoda takes its shape from Indian stupas and its five roofs from the five elements. The sutra repository holds a complete Chinese edition of the canon and tells the story of how Buddhism travelled from India through China and the Korean peninsula. In the Yakushi hall people rub the part of the statue that corresponds to what ails them, and the vermilion bridge at the edge of the grounds carries Sanskrit on its handrails.

4. Lunch

   Back at Kawasaki Station

   The station district grew out of a post town on the old Tokaido road and then out of the factories, and its restaurants still plate for people who work shifts: large portions, fast service, no ceremony. Eat there before the afternoon rather than at the temple.

5. Afternoon

   The hall where cars are blessed

   The safe-driving prayer hall is the one building visitors remember: an Indian-style facade, rare in Japan, built to pray for the safety of cars, drivers and passengers. Cars queue for a blessing in the courtyard beside it, which is its own kind of spectacle.

6. Late afternoon

   The fox shrine on the way back Optional

   Keihin Fushimi Inari was founded in 1951 as a branch of the great Inari shrine in Kyoto, and its grounds hold a hundred and eight stone foxes, one for each of the worldly desires. It sits a short detour from the return line: from Kawasaki Station it is about ten minutes on the JR Nambu line to Musashi-Kosugi and a ten-minute walk, or the Tokyu lines from Shin-Maruko three minutes away.

Make it lighter

The gate, the main hall, the fire rite and lunch back at the station, with the fox shrine left out. Half a day, one train line.

A manga museum on timed tickets, and twenty-five farmhouses → The waterfront by day, the factory lights by night → Read the Kawasaki city guide →

If the weather changes

The main hall, the smaller halls and the covered edges of the grounds are the wet-day version, and the walk from the station is short enough to do under an umbrella.

Check before leaving

Check the temple's own notice for the day's rite and for any hall closed to visitors, and check which restaurants near the station are resting, since many follow the temple calendar.