Saikyo-ji is a fairly large Buddhist Temple complex that consists of many halls, buildings, maze-like corridors, beautiful gardens, and some unique exhibitions, including ancient paintings on sliding doors.

There are two particularly interesting things about the Main Hall that I would like to mention:

Inside, you will see a wooden statue of a Monkey holding a small hammer. According to a tale, 500 years ago, this Temple was under attack, and a monkey with white hands rang the bell. As the Monkey with white hands was seen as a symbol of a God's messenger, the attackers refrained from destroying Saikyo-ji Temple. While exploring the whole Temple, take a look at the roofs - you will be able to spot many different peculiar monkey statues (including those holding a hammer, which I suppose is also a reference to that tale).

You can get a truly awesome Omikuji (fortune-telling) in the main hall. All the omikuji I've done before felt like fun touristy things, but this one felt completely different. Perhaps it's because it's located inside such a holy place, making it feel truly authentic and ancient.

For the Omikuji:

1. Throw a 100 JPY coin into the dedicated box (to the left of that monkey statue).

2. Take a hexagonal-looking box. It has a small hole on top, so after you give it a little shake, a thin wooden stick should fall out a bit. Pull the stick out completely, but be careful not to damage it because you'll need to put it back into the box later.

3. Look at the kanji (Japanese characters) written on the stick and find the corresponding kanji on one of the small shelves to the left. From that small compartment, take a piece of paper with a drawing and some text in Japanese - that is your Omikuji. The only downside is that it's in Japanese only, with no translations or explanations in English nearby. But if you ask me, that actually adds to its awesomeness and authenticity. Just use your Google Translate app and the live-translation function through your phone camera. The rest is simple: if it's a good fortune, you keep it with you; if it's a bad one (which I prefer to call a "warning" because that's essentially what they are), you should tie it to a special place that usually looks like a wooden frame with strings, where you'll find many tied omikuji left by those who drew bad fortunes.

4. Remember to return that wooden stick back inside the box.

After taking off your shoes and visiting the main hall, don't forget to explore around the main hall and other parts of the complex (turn right as soon as you leave the main hall). At the end of your tour, you'll find a souvenir shop with absolutely delicious round-shaped matcha sweets (I attached a photo of them) that I highly recommend trying.

I've mentioned it many times, but I'll say it again: this is another one of my favorite Temples in all of Kansai Prefecture (otherwise I wouldn't be recommending it 😅).