Located at a 10 minutes driving distance from the Darjeeling town center, this elegant two storied structure is a Buddhist temple which is built in the Japanese architecture. The temple is also known as the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple. The two storied white building was built in a traditional Japanese style in the year 1972.
Two statues of Golden Lions at the entrance invite the visitors to explore inside the shrine.
There is a large prayer hall with the Buddhist gods where a visitor can take part in the prayer which is conducted twice a day. A Buddhist priest or guru can be seen beating the drums during the prayer. Thereby as a traveller, one can experience the glimpse of Buddhist worship at the Japanese Temple.
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- Japanese Temple and Peace Pagoda
Next to the Japanese Temple there is a Peace Pagoda, a buddhist stupa which holds the sculptures of Lord Buddha. It also promotes the idea of universal peace and unity. The Peace Pagoda has 4 statues of Buddha depicting his different avatars (forms). It was constructed under the guidance of Nichidatsu Fujii and it is one of the tallest structures in Darjeeling.
One can see the carvings depicting the tales of Buddha’s life around the pagoda. The white structure of the Peace Pagoda stands for the equality, world peace and non-violence. From the top of the Pagoda, one can see the panoramic views of Darjeeling landscape including the Kanchenjunga range.
