Morinji Temple

Famous as the setting of the Bunbuku Chagama folk tale, where a tanuki (raccoon dog) transforms into a tea kettle, this Soto Zen temple greets visitors with a procession of 21 tanuki statues wearing monks' hats along the approach. The 15th-century temple preserves the legendary iron kettle, and the forested grounds are a designated natural monument for their lotus pond and ancient trees. A genuinely quirky detour.