Tōchō-ji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in the narrow streets of old Hakata, best known for housing Japan's largest seated wooden Buddhist statue. The figure of Fukuoka Daibutsu, completed in 1992, stands seven metres tall and is carved from Japanese cypress; the gilded surface reflects the dim light of the hall in a way that makes the scale difficult to judge on first entry. Below the statue is a short pitch-dark tunnel (similar to the one at Zenkō-ji in Nagano) where visitors grope along the wall to find a sacred stone wheel — an act representing rebirth.
The temple grounds also hold a five-storey pagoda that is the tallest wooden structure in Fukuoka, and several other halls with notable Buddhist art. Tōchō-ji sits in a dense urban block near Canal City and Kushida Shrine, easily missed behind commercial buildings, which makes the large interior hall a genuine surprise. Admission is inexpensive and the temple is normally uncrowded even when the city centre is busy.