Kunisaki Peninsula

What?
Kunisaki Peninsula 国東半島 in northern Oita Prefecture 大分県 in said to be very important for early Buddhism in Japan. Stuffed with temples and even very scarce stone carvings of Buddha, it is so much out of the way that it encompases the transcendency of Buddhism perfectly by being half overgrown by the abundant nature.
Where?
The sights on Kunisaki Peninsula are nearly impossible to do without your own wheels. As I don't have them I took a guided bus tour starting in Oita and ending in Beppu organized by Oita Kotsu 大分交通.
URL
Japan Guide Outline Oita Kotsu

I wanted to make a tour of Kyushu instead of just going back and forth, so I had some time to visit the Kunisaki Peninsula. Lacking a car or even a license, I decided to join a tour for the first time in my life. Wanting to travel alone most of the time I was a bit afraid, but as there were not many participants and as enough time was left for lonesome exploring, my fear was unjustified.

It is a Japanese tour though, so the pace was quite fast and I had to stick to the plan.
But with the very spacious Hachiman Jingu, the simplistic Fukiji Temple (with interesting ancient drawing in the interior) and the carvings at Kumano Magaibutsu, the tour had enough interesting places to offer. Other stops were Maki Odo with 3 amazing statues and Futagoji.

The bus stopped at Beppu on the way back, so I got off to take a soak in the onsen of my hotel. My actual visit of Beppu would start the next day, but as a manhole lover I was pleasantly surprised by the numerous designs: one manhole design for every month!