Anrakuji Temple

Quiet Bessho Onsen temple with Japan's only octagonal three-storey pagoda.

Anrakuji is the strongest sight around Bessho Onsen. Its wooden pagoda is a National Treasure and the only octagonal three-storey pagoda left in Japan, set quietly against the wooded slope above the hot-spring village.

The temple is best visited slowly. The approach, trees, and small precinct give the pagoda room to feel like more than an architectural oddity.

things to do sight temple architecture