Visiting Buzen Kokubunji Temple, Miyako, Fukuoka

In the evening, we went to Buzen Kokubunji (豊前国分寺) Site Park in Miyako, Fukuoka. According to Wikipedia, Kokubunji were Buddhist temples established in each provinces of Japan by Emperor Shomu during the Nara period. The site is now a historical park and there is a three-storied pagoda in the park.

We were on our way from Usa Jingu which we visited in the afternoon. We were going straight there on National Route 10 and Higashi-Kyushu Expressway. Getting off the super highway at Miyako-Toyotsu Interchange, then we were going up west on Fukuoka Prefectural Route 58. My car🚗 gps says there is a similar place called Buzen Kokufu Site Park along the road. Kofuku (国府) means the capitals of the historical provinces of Japan. There's nothing to see here only the ancient tomb (古墳 kofun) grounds and a play ground. We really wanted to see the triple tower so we ask salesperson in the grocery store to how to get there. She said, "You should go down the way, then turn right into the old provincial road". We went down that road and turn right on the next corner. When the gps says that it is, we finally got here.

We parked a car at the parking lot and start walking.

We were passing through the site of Kokubunji provincial temple to Buddhist tower.

The three-storied pagoda of Buzen Kokubunji temple. It seems that it was rebuilt during the Meiji era by the request of the priest, Koryo Miyamoto, while most of the main buildings were burned down in the Azuchi-Momoyama period.

The tower from the opposite side is like this.