Hokekyouji is one of the main temples of the Buddhist Nichiren sect. Nichiren is the founder of the sect founded in the twelfth century, one of the newer Buddhist sects that emerged in the Kamakura era together with Zen Buddhist sects.Since Nichiren was born in Boushuu which is now Chiba Prefecture, there are many Nichiren sect celebrated temples in Chiba Prefecture. On New Year's Day of 2017 we visited Hokekyouji one of the most popular religious sites in Chiba Prefecture that attract a large number of people to pray for a good year. There was quite a long queue leading up to the main temple. Along with the food stalls set up during the festivity period there are a couple of eateries. We entered one of them and ordered some oden (stewed vegetables and fishballs). This is a good place to visit to get an understanding of a major Japanese Buddhist temple.

Hokekyo-ji is a huge temple of the Nichiren-shu located in Ichikawa-city, Chiba prefecture. The temple has many historical buildings including the main gate and the pagoda. Cherry blooming season is highly recommended.