Byakugo-ji

The last stretch to Byakugo-ji is a lane that climbs out of the houses of Takabatake, and then the stone steps start, more than 100 of them, steep and uneven. In late September and early October bush clover leans in from both sides and narrows the path, which is why people call it the hagi temple. Take your time. At the top, turn round: the temple sits on the lower slope of Mount Takamado, and the whole of the Nara basin opens out below, with the city in front and the hills of western Nara beyond. I think it is the best view on the east side of Nara, and worth the 500 yen and the lost breath.

Nobody is sure how the temple began. One tradition puts a villa of Prince Shiki, a son of Emperor Tenji, on this spot; another names the monk Gonzo as founder. What is certain is that Eison revived it in the Kamakura period, and that a disciple of his brought a printed set of the Buddhist canon from China, so it was also called Issaikyo-ji. Fires in 1497, 1520 and 1757 took the old halls, and the main hall you see is a rebuilding from the early Edo period.

The statues survived. In the treasure house, eight of them are Important Cultural Properties, including the Amida that is the main image and a scowling Kamakura-period Enma, king of the underworld, with his attendants. Another of the group, Taizan-o, was made in 1259 by Koen, a grandson of Unkei. A memorial service for Enma is held on 16 January.

In the grounds stands the five-colour camellia, said to be about 400 years old and a Nara Prefecture natural monument, one of the three famous camellias of Nara. Its flowers come in red, white and pink, often streaked. There is no parking, no website of the temple's own, and very little English, and the steps make it hard going for anyone with bad knees. Shin-Yakushi-ji is less than a kilometre away, so most people pair the two.