Explore Engyoji Temple: The Stunning Hollywood Filming Location of "The Last Samurai"!

Engyoji Temple,the 27th on the 33-sacred Temple Kannon Pilgrimage Route in Saigoku(the Kinki Area and Gifu Prefecture). It's located in the western hills of Himeji City (which is quite famous for its marvelous castle, World Heritage Site) in Hyogo Prefecture and a historic site with over 1,000 years of history. You can enjoy its tranquil atmosphere and amazing wooden architecture. It became famous as a key filming location for "The Last Samurai " starring Tom Cruise and Ken Watanabe. 

Mt. Shosha (371 meters) at the northern edge of Himeji City is home to Engyoji Temple. There is a ropeway to the top of the mountain and you can also hike there in about 40 minutes. Engyoji Temple is spread across the face of Mt. Shosha, with several temple buildings built within the mountain's dense forests. The majority of the temple buildings can be accessed by a walk or bus ride from the upper ropeway station. From the upper ropeway station, It's a 10-minute walk to reach Niomon Gate and the same to reach Maniden, a wooden temple built on stilt-like foundations on one of the mountain's steeper slopes. Many of pilgrims come to Maniden to receive scrolls stamped with the temple's seal. There are three large temple halls in the forests with a several-minute walk. Mitsunodo is the massive wooden main hall. Jikido is a lodging and dining hall that exhibits some of the temple's treasures and Jogyodo is the temple's gymnasium. Farther still is an observation point that looks across the entire Himeji City and some other temple buildings. Visitors can try vegetarian Buddhist cuisine served on Edo-period lacquerware at the elegant sub-temple. It's also possible to stay the night there.