The entrance is located almost 300 m from JR Tsurumi station. On the both sides there are plenty of trees and wide road to the temple together with traditional entrance gates greeting many visitors.

Sojiji is the headquarters of the Soto sect. The steel-reinforced concrete gates at the entrance is Japan’s largest. The Nio (two Deva kings) that is modeled on Kitano Umi (Sumo wrestler) is standing inside.

The Sojiji Temple is the head temple of the Soto school (of Zen Buddhism). Every summer, the Mitama Matsuri Bon Odori Festival is held. It is now established as a local summer tradition, and many participants enjoy dancing the Bon dance to the cheers of the energetic monks. Please come and join our Bon Odori Festival!Held over three consecutive days from July 18 to 20, this huge summer festival is a Tsurumi summer tradition. Featuring a Bon Odori dance with the temple priests, a fireworks display with 200 fireworks launched over the three days and many stalls lining the approach to the temple, this lively festival attracts crowds of people of all ages and genders.

As one of the eight villages that offered seafood to the Shogun during the Edo era, Namamugi holds the event, the Namamugi Kyutokaido Festival, during which children and adults can eat all they want. The anago tempura is very popular.

This is the scene of the Namamugi Incident in 1862, where British merchants were slashed when they interrupted the procession of Shimazu Hisamitsu, the feudal lord of Satsuma. As revenge, the British bombarded Kagoshima, resulting in the Anglo-Satsuma War. However, as a result of the war, ties between Satsuma and Britain were strengthened, encouraging modernization. These Anglo-Satsuma ties became the centre of the Meiji Restoration.