The big Buddha club just got a new member. Located a 90-minute car ride to the west of central Tokyo is Hinode-machi, a rural town of 17,000 which unless you’re an avid hiker or love fall foliage, you’ve probably never heard of. However, Hokōji, a Buddhist Temple in this small town is hoping to change that via their new gigantic …

The cutest Shinto priest you’ll ever see is in Kanagawa. A relatively unknown Shinto shrine in Kanagawa Prefecture has suddenly become faamous due to its “substitute Chief Priest” having the head of a panda. Located in the Kanagawa city of Ebina Aruka Shrine (有鹿神社, aruka jinja) is a somewhat out-of-the-way shrine that despite being Kanagawa’s oldest shrine – records indicate …

Trance inducing electronic beats and psychedelic lights, two things that people wouldn’t normally associate with Buddhist temples. However, thanks to a former DJ turned Buddhist priest, that may be about to change. In an effort to attract more visitors and have people take an interest in Buddhism Shō-onji (照恩寺), a Pure Land Buddhism temple in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, has …