Oya Temple is built against a sheer face of Oya stone and is associated with some of Japan's old Buddhist cliff carvings. The rock gives the temple a rough, sheltered quality that feels very different from the polished shrine architecture in central Utsunomiya.
Across the road stands the Peace Kannon, a large figure cut into the stone after World War II. It is not subtle, but it belongs to the landscape: a local monument made from the material that shaped the whole district.