Choanji is a Shingon Buddhist temple in Yugawara dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Medicine Buddha. The deity of healing holds special significance in a hot spring resort town where visitors have long sought cures for ailments. Miniature statues representing the 88 sacred sites of Shikoku are arranged in the precincts. The temple offers fine views of Sagami Bay.

Choanji Temple is believed to have been founded around 1300, during the late Kamakura period, as a Shingon Buddhist temple. Its name, 'Choan,' is said to derive from Chang'an, the capital of Tang-dynasty China, reflecting the temple's spiritual connection to the flourishing Buddhist culture of East …