Chikurin-ji is temple No. 31 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located on Mt. Godai, a fairly high hill within Kōchi city. Chikurin-ji means ‘bamboo forest temple’, although today, Mt. Godai is more broad-leaf and pine forest than bamboo.

Chikurin-ji is conspicuous for its red, five-storied pagoda. Built in 1980 using traditional techniques, it replaced a three-storied pagoda that was destroyed in a typhoon in 1899. The other temple buildings are much older originals.

The compound of Chikurin-ji is planted with many kinds of trees and the ground is carpeted richly in moss, making it seem like a garden. But the temple has two remarkable Buddhist-inspired gardens hidden away to the side of the priest’s quarters, which you can enter for a fee. There’s also a museum of impressive Buddhist statuary.  

Chikurin-ji donated some of its extensive grounds for the creation of the Makino Botanical Garden to honour botanist Dr. Makino Tomitarō, a Kōchi hero.