“A temple where you can experience from Hell to Heaven”
Japan Van Life Ch 39 (pt 1): A Hella Good Time
Osaka, Japan, is famed for many things such as it’s delicious food and hilarious comedians, but hell is not necessarily one of its top tourist attractions..
Today we are giving you a full tour of one of Osaka’s oldest temples, Senkoji Temple, in the historic Hirano neighborhood, where you will find the 地獄堂 (“Jigokudo”, Hall of Hell) and route to redemption at 仏の国 (“Hotoke no Kuni”, The Land of Buddha, AKA Paradise)!
At this unique temple, you can learn your fate for the afterlife from the judges of hell, come face to face with a Japanese oni (demon), connect your soul to Buddha via the most Instagrammable red thread of fate, and finally beg for redemption and enlightenment as you meditate on a colorful mandala in front of 151 Buddha statues.
You can also experience the wrath of the oni on children stuck between heaven and hell as you try to build your path to heaven by piling up rocks before the demons come to knock them down!
Although it all seems like fun and games (and with its QR code tickets and attraction map, you might just be forgiven for thinking you’ve entered Japan’s weirdest theme park rather than a place of worship), the temple experience is meant to be educational and to deter you from doing wrong while in the land of the living. So have you been good this year? Are you ready to learn your fate?
😈👹 PLAY ALONG! ⬇️
Will Enma, the Great King of Hell, judge you as fit to enter heaven or are you destined for hell? Play along with the “Paradise degree / Hell degree check” to learn your fate! (*Apologies for bad translations or ambiguity, these questions and answers were written word for word as they were shown in the temple*)
Answer the 10 questions and add up your points (+1 for an A answer, -1 for a B answer!)
A) The Road to Paradise | B) The Road to Hell
1. A) Be Grateful and Try to Be Serious. / B) There are Constantly Complaining.
2. A) The Obligation and the Responsibility Act Willingly. / B) Irresponsible without Motivation.
3. A) Spend Time Protecting Money. / B) Waste Time and Money.
4. A) Do well for a Person With Kindness. / B) I Like to Speak III. So I Can’t Get Along.
5. A) I Try Healthy Mentally and Physically. / B) Gluttony. Gluttony Make Oneself Poor.
6. A) Think with Everything Better. / B) Quickly Get Angry and Trouble a Person.
7. A) Have a Belief and Patience. / B) Rely too Much on a Person to Discouraged Quickly.
8. A) Always Reflect and Mend Honestly. / B) Selfish. Carefree Selfish.
9. A) To know the Shame and Cherish the Kindness. / B) Greed is Deep and Conceited.
10. A) Live With Smile on Dreams and Hopes. / B) A Lot of Hesitation and Uneasiness.
Go to Paradise or Hell? The Results:
10 – 8 Go to Paradise. You are Such a Buddha!
7 – 4 Pass to Paradise. Let’s Cherish the Feeling Now.
3 – 0 Qualified to Go to Paradise. You Can be Relieved, Right? Be Careful, You are Immediately Withdrawn Qualified.
-1- -3 Reprieve to Hell. You Can be a Qualified Person for Paradise Depending on Your Efforts.
-4 – -7 Ready to Go to Hell. You Can Still Make it in Time. If You Can Reform Your Way of Life.
-8 – -10 Decision to Go to Hell. Torture of the Terrible Hell Awaits!
Let us know your fate in the comments! (and hopefully Enma will forgive us for calculating ours wrongly or else we’re doomed 💦)
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Thank you (and big love!) to our current monthly Ko-fi club members Eric, Natalie, Yuki, Jen, Mel, Ian, Sam, @Ferovka & Keith for supporting our travels ❤️
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📍 LOCATION:
Senkoji Buddhist Temple, Hirano Ward, Osaka (全興寺)
Want to visit more surprisingly weird places in Japan? Check these top 5 unique shrines & temples out:
No.1 Yasaka Namba shrine
No.2 Tsuyu no Tenjinja Shrine
No.3 Himejima Shrine
No.4 Senkoji Temple
No.5 Nunose Shrine
(Source: Power spots in Japan: Temples and Shrines of Osaka That Will Surprise You
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