Kongoji Temple and Statue of Kobo Daishi Gamagori

Kongoji Temple and Statue of Kobo Daishi Gamagori 金剛寺, 蒲郡

Just a little west of Laguna Ten Bosch in Gamagori on the coast of Aichi Prefecture is Kongoji Temple and its giant statue of Kobo Daishi.

Nepalese Temple, Kongoji Temple

History

Kongoji is worth the steep climb up the hill to see a replica of a Nepalese temple on its grounds complete with a huge prayer wheel. Just a little further up the hill is a huge 30m-tall statue of Kobo Daishi (Kukai) with superb views out over Gamagori town and the ocean. The statue was completed in 1939 and shows Kobo Daishi holding an infant, which relates to a story of the priest helping a woman to give birth in Shikoku. Thus the statue is a pilgrimage site for women seeking conception or a healthy birth.

Kongoji Temple, Gamagori, Aichi

Kongoji is linked with the Shingon-sect temples of Koyasan in the Kansai area. Close to the statue is a coffee shop and Lover's Hill (ラバーズヒル), where couples have pledged their undying love with pink plastic hearts with written messages padlocked to a fence around a balcony with lovely views of the sea.

Lover's Hill, Gamagori, Aichi Prefecture

Kongoji Temple Access - Getting There

Kongoji Minamiyama 1-9 Miyacho, 443-0021 Tel: 0533 69 7379 By bus from Gamagori Station to Mikawa-Otsuka or Toyohashi Station, get off the bus at Mikawa onsen mae bus stop and walk up the hill.

View of Lagunasia from Kongoji Temple, Gamagori