Oct–NovA Sōtō Zen temple of the early Edo period with three National Treasure buildings on one straight axis: the gate, the Buddha hall and the lecture hall, joined by a covered corridor. Ten minutes on foot from Takaoka Station.
Both 2026 light-ups are over: the spring night opening ran 22 April–5 May and the autumn one 19–23 September. Regular hours apply now. The next dates, including New Year, are below; 2027 light-up dates are not announced.
Zuiryū-ji (瑞龍寺) in Takaoka is a Sōtō Zen temple whose Sanmon gate, Butsuden and Hatto were designated National Treasures in 1997. Entry is ¥500 for adults, ¥200 for junior and senior high school students and ¥100 for elementary school children. It opens 9:00–16:30, to 16:00 from 10 December to 31 January, and entry stops 30 minutes before the gate closes. It is a 10 minute walk from Takaoka Station, 20 minutes from Toyama on the Ainokaze line.
Zuiryū-ji was built by the Kaga lords in memory of Maeda Toshinaga, who founded Takaoka as a city, and the work took about 20 years in the early Edo period. The gate, the Buddha hall and the lecture hall stand on one straight axis, with a covered corridor of roughly 300 m round the grounds. The Sanmon is about 18 m high, the tallest building. Its outline is plain and symmetrical, nothing like the ornate halls of Kyoto.
The temple is quiet outside the light-up weeks and the New Year. It pairs naturally with the Great Buddha, the copperware streets of Kanayamachi and Doraemon’s hometown, all in the same compact city.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Admission | ¥500 adults, ¥200 junior and senior high school, ¥100 elementary school. Groups of 30 or more: ¥400, ¥150, ¥70. |
| Hours | 9:00–16:30 (the gate closes); 9:00–16:00 from 10 December to 31 January. Enter at least 30 minutes before closing. Closed days are not listed by the temple; phone 0766-22-0179 for a holiday visit. |
| National Treasures | Sanmon (the present gate was completed in 1820), Butsuden (1659) and Hatto (1655), designated in 1997. The Sōmon, Zendō, Daikuri, corridor and Daisadō are Important Cultural Properties. |
| Light-ups | Spring 22 April–5 May 2026, 18:30–21:00; autumn 19–23 September 2026, 18:00–21:00. Last entry 20:45 and no shuttle bus in autumn. 2027 dates not announced. |
| New Year | Free entry from 22:00 on 31 December to 2:00 and on 1 January, 8:00–16:00. |
| Getting there | 10 min on foot from Takaoka Station (Ainokaze Toyama Railway), 20 min and ¥390 from Toyama. 15–20 min on foot from Shin-Takaoka on the Shinkansen. About 100 free parking spaces. |
| Goshuin | Standard stamp ¥500 since 1 December 2025. |
| Time needed | 45–60 minutes in the temple; add the Great Buddha for a half day. |
Walk the line from the Sanmon to the Hatto, then take the corridor back.
The two-storey gate is about 18 m tall, the highest building in the temple. The present gate was completed in 1820 and is the first of the three National Treasures, with the Butsuden and Hatto beyond it along the same line.
The Butsuden (Buddha hall, 1659) has a double roof in Chinese style; the Hatto (lecture hall, 1655) behind it is plain and wide with fine joinery. Walking from gate to Hatto you are on the axis the architects meant, over a flat stone path across open lawn.
A roofed corridor runs round the grounds and links the Daikuri (kitchen) and the Daisadō (tea hall), with the bell tower at its centre. It is the part that photographs well in rain and at the New Year, when queues form along it for the bell. The temple also runs an early-morning zazen session; see its website for the dates.
A 15.85 m bronze Amida Nyorai finished in 1933, counted by Takaoka among Japan’s three Great Buddhas. It is free to see from outside; the base gallery takes a donation. The Takaoka guide has the full day plan with Kanayamachi and the Doraemon walk.
Takaoka Station, not Shin-Takaoka, is the one for the temple.
The Ainokaze Toyama Railway runs from Toyama Station to Takaoka Station in about 20 minutes for ¥390. Leave by the Zuiryū-ji exit and walk 10 minutes to the temple. The Ainokaze line is not covered by the JR Pass or the Hokuriku Arch Pass.
Shin-Takaoka is the Shinkansen stop. Walking to the temple takes 15–20 minutes by one guide’s estimate, or take a short taxi ride. Good if you are heading west to Kanazawa afterwards.
The temple has free parking for about 100 cars, but there is none near the venue during the light-ups, so use the paid lots round Takaoka Station.
It is small and flat, and the hours are short in winter.
Most visitors do Takaoka as a day trip from Toyama or Kanazawa. A night lets you see the temple at opening time.
Linked to Takaoka Station by a covered deck, one minute from the gates and about ten from the temple. An onsen bath for the evening before an early temple visit.
Two 100-year-old townhouses in the Kanayamachi casting district, rented whole with a kitchen. A night in the old copperware quarter after the temple.
Seven rooms above the Goi dam lake, each with its own source-fed open-air bath, a ryokan night after a day of temples.
Check rates ↗Admission is ¥500 for adults, ¥200 for junior and senior high school students and ¥100 for elementary school children. It opens 9:00–16:30, and from 10 December to 31 January the gate closes at 16:00. Enter at least 30 minutes before closing.
Take the Ainokaze Toyama Railway from Toyama Station to Takaoka Station (about 20 minutes, ¥390) and walk 10 minutes from the Zuiryū-ji exit. The Shinkansen stops at Shin-Takaoka instead, which is a 15–20 minute walk from the temple.
Yes, twice a year. In 2026 the spring night opening ran 22 April–5 May (18:30–21:00) and the autumn light-up 19–23 September (18:00–21:00, last entry 20:45). Both are over, and the 2027 dates are not announced. Entry is also free at New Year.
Its Sanmon, Butsuden and Hatto were designated National Treasures in 1997 as outstanding early Edo Zen temple architecture. They stand on one straight axis, joined by a covered corridor of about 300 m, and the layout is symmetrical.
Yes. The Great Buddha is about 0.5 km north of Takaoka Station and the temple is a 10 minute walk from it, so the two make an easy half day, with Kanayamachi or the Manyo Line to Shinminato as a longer option.
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