Kawasaki Daishi

The last stretch of the walk from Kawasaki-Daishi Station is the Nakamise, and you hear it before you see it: candy makers chopping long sticks of candy on wooden boards to a fast, drumming rhythm, the tontoko ame the street is known for. At the end stands the Daisanmon gate and, beyond it, the main hall of Heiken-ji, a head temple of the Chisan branch of Shingon Buddhism, ranked with Naritasan and Takao-san. The temple story goes that in 1128 a fisherman named Hirama Kanenori, aged 42 and in his unlucky year, pulled a wooden statue of Kobo Daishi out of the sea in his net, and the temple built for it took his surname. People have come here for yakuyoke, warding off bad luck, ever since, and goma fire rituals are performed in the main hall every day. Most halls were rebuilt after the war, with the Inari-do the only one that survived. The Keikyu Daishi Line itself began in 1899 to carry worshippers here. Be warned that the first days of January bring huge New Year crowds and long waits. On an ordinary weekday morning the grounds are calm, and entry is free.