5/5 VT A. 2 months ago on Google • 31 reviews New
It’s
famous
as
the
place
where
the
Daruma
doll
was
first
created.
The
temple,
which
was
built
in
1697,
is
pretty
small
and
is
a
bit
difficult
to
get
to,
but
it’s
the
only
place
in
Japan
you
can
buy
a
Daruma
doll
that’s
been
blessed
by
a
Shorinzan
monk…or
so
they
told
me.
To
get
here,
you
can
take
a
short
ride
on
the
JR
Shin-Etsu
Line
from
Takasaki
Station
to
the
Gunma-Yawata
Station.
It
doesn’t
run
very
often
(once
an
hour
during
off-peak
times),
so
you
may
want
to
think
about
what
time
you
leave
the
temple
in
order
to
avoid
a
long
wait
at
the
station.
The
walk
from
Gunma-Yawata
to
the
temple
takes
about
25-30
minutes
and
is
relatively
flat
until
you
have
to
climb
up
a
hill
at
the
end.
There
are
almost
no
signs
along
the
way
to
the
temple,
so
I
would
recommend
using
Google
Maps
to
guide
you
there.
The
temple
is
located
on
multiple
levels
and
to
see
the
building
with
the
daruma
dolls,
you
need
to
go
up
to
the
top
level.
There
are
quite
a
few
stairs
-
if
you
can’t
climb
stairs,
you
may
want
to
use
the
road
that
goes
around
the
west
side
of
the
temple.
From
the
terrace
at
the
top,
you
get
a
beautiful
panoramic
view
of
Takasaki
and
the
mountains
in
the
distance.
There
are
two
shops
at
the
temple
-
the
one
by
the
entrance
is
mostly
focused
on
omamori
(charms),
but
the
shop
at
the
top
level
is
stocked
with
reasonably
priced
daruma-related
souvenirs
along
with
the
entire
range
of
omamori.