The ancient Chojuji temple in Konan, Shiga Prefecture, is getting some cool reviews on social media for old-school visual effects using a block of ice, flowers and an acrylic board.
Initially, chief priest Ryodo Fujishi, 49, placed an acrylic board in a tatami room so visitors could enjoy and take pictures of the reflection of the beautiful maple leaves and other foliage outside.
Then on July 20, Fujishi decided to place an ice block in the same room, thinking it would add a touch of elegance, and posted an image of it on Instagram.
The 40-centimeter-high and 25-centimeter-wide block was made using a home-use refrigerator-freezer.
But because the cube didn't freeze completely after 24 hours, the unfrozen area had become hollow by the following day.
After the temple arranged a hydrangea beside the hollow area, which resembled a window frame, it received a lot of comments such as "It looks great!" and "I want to see it."
"Many people came to visit the temple and gave us advice. At first, we thought we would only put out an ice block on weekends, but now we can't stop doing this," the priest said.
The temple, which is believed to have been built in the Nara Period (710-784), said it would stop using the ice during the busy Bon festival season, but will bring it back until the end of August.
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