Matsuo-dera

Matsuo-dera calls itself Japan's oldest temple for warding off bad luck, and people do travel a long way for it, above all from January to March, when those in an unlucky year come for prayers. It is one of two Nara temples with a claim of this kind: Okadera in Asuka calls itself the first. Read both as what the temples say about themselves.

The temple's story is that Prince Toneri, a son of Emperor Tenmu, founded it in 718. He was 42 by the traditional count, the worst unlucky age for men, and was compiling the Nihon Shoki chronicle, so he prayed here for his own safety and for the book. The present main hall was rebuilt in 1337 and is an Important Cultural Property. Its main image, a Thousand-armed Kannon, is a hidden Buddha shown only on 3 November (1,000 yen). Other halls keep their own calendars: the Shichifukujin hall, with an Important Cultural Property Daikokuten, opens daily for 500 yen; the main hall interior from 20 March to 20 December; and the En no Gyoja statues in the Gyoja hall for under two weeks each September (1 to 13 September in 2026, 500 yen). The grounds themselves are free, from 9:00 to 16:00. Tea people should find the tea room the temple attributes to a young Katagiri Sekishu, who later founded Jiko-in down in the valley.

In May the flower field turns into a rose garden. The planting began in 1952 to mark the Showa-era repair of the main hall, and entry and parking are free. In 2025 it ran from 11 to 25 May; in 2026 it opened on 9 May and closed when the bloom ended, so check the website in spring. Casablanca lilies follow from around 30 June, though the temple warns that the display can be called off if wild boar damage the plants.

Getting up here is the work. The bus leaves you at Matsuodera-guchi on the main road, and the temple puts the walk at about 2.4 km, uphill most of the way on a road you share with cars heading for the two car parks. The prefecture's tourism site allows 30 minutes, which is a brisk pace. Hikers can arrive along the Yata hills paths instead; Yata-dera, the hydrangea temple, is about 2 km north as the crow flies.