2 Best Sights in Shikoku, Japan

A 15-minute walk from Dogo Onsen, Ishite Temple is Shingon Buddhism at play. Half serene pilgrimage destination, half ancient Buddhist-themed fun park, the temple is more than worth a visit. As sprawling and elegantly unkempt as the city around it, it contains surprises that are, like the temple cats, too numerous to count.

Enter the temple by way of a stone road that's flanked by wooden stalls with vendors selling calligraphy brushes, omiyage-paper fortunes, and pilgrimage gear. Just inside the colossal temple gate you'll see a table for folding origami cranes; make one and it will be added to the heavy, colorful bunches hanging around the pillars. Past the cranes lies the main hall of worship, where you're likely to see a pilgrim or two chanting a sutra. In the surrounding area you'll also see painted panels, golden statues, a giant mandala on the stairway to the main shrine, a wooden kami (spirit) with a sword you can heft, and a huge bronze bell to ring (¥100).

It's serene and memorable, but the real fun at Ishite-ji Temple starts in a long, dark cave to the left of the main worship hall. It feels impossibly long, and when you finally emerge on the other side—past startling wooden statues and 88 stone Buddhas—you'll be confronted by a 100-foot statue of the priest Kobo Daishi striding across the mountains. The mountain behind the temple also holds a few surprises: a scrambling rock pathway leads up the mountain, where two spooky caves are yours to explore (even most locals don't know about them).

Buddhist pilgrims had been communing with nature in the garden of this austere mountaintop temple long before the giant ferns moved in next door at the Makino Botanical Garden. The garden, a registered National Treasure, dates from the 13th century. Its simple arrangement of ponds, rocks, and pine trees provides a soothing contrast to the vibrant foliage next door. The setting is particularly peaceful in the late afternoon. Linger at the temple a while, and you're likely to encounter white-clad Shingon Buddhist pilgrims visiting on their way around the island.