Begin your guided visit at Zenkoji Temple’s Niomon Gate, where your guide will introduce the tour and share the basic legend of Zenkoji Nyorai, the temple’s hidden principal image, as well as the long tradition of pilgrimage to Zenkoji. From there, walk along Nakamise Street towards the main temple area. As you pass the shops, learn how this approach developed to serve pilgrims and visitors, and how the temple grounds changed over time after the main hall was moved farther north to reduce the risk of fire from nearby houses.

Before entering the central area, stop near the Sanmon Gate to learn temple etiquette. Your guide will explain how to purify your hands, where to walk inside the temple grounds, and when to bow at gates and sacred entrances. Then continue to the Main Hall and enter with your Zenkoji admission set ticket.

Inside the Main Hall, see important figures such as Binzuru Sonja and Enma, the king of the underworld, before moving into the inner sanctuary. There, your guide will explain the significance of worshipping Zenkoji Nyorai and the meaning of its location within the hall, while introducing stories from Zenkoji’s origin legend.

Next, experience the famous underground passage known as the kaidan meguri. Before entering, your guide will explain that the passage is completely dark and that visitors search for the “key to paradise,” believed to create a spiritual connection with Zenkoji Nyorai. After this unique experience, visit the Chureiden Museum, where historical objects help tell the storey of Zenkoji faith across the centuries.

Continue to the Sutra Repository and experience turning the large Buddhist scripture wheel. Finally, enter the Sanmon Gate, where Buddhist images connected to the Shikoku pilgrimage and old graffiti left by past visitors reveal how Zenkoji attracted pilgrims from all over Japan. Enjoy the view from the gate before the tour ends beneath the Sanmon Gate.