Photo: Saigen Jiro / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Gangoji
Japan's Oldest Temple with 1,400-Year-Old Roof Tiles
A World Heritage temple and one of Japan's oldest, where remarkably some original roof tiles from...
© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kofuku-ji
Nara's Five-Story Pagoda and National Treasure Hall
World Heritage temple with Japan's second-tallest wooden pagoda (50m). The National Treasure Hall...
© 663highland / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)
Horyu-ji
The World's Oldest Wooden Buildings and a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important temples in Japan, Horyu-ji contains th...
© Naokijp / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Toshodai-ji
Ganjin's Legacy and the Finest Nara-Period Architecture
A World Heritage temple founded in 759 by the Chinese monk Ganjin, whose Golden Hall is widely re...
Photo: Mont Blank rich / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Todai-ji
Todai-ji Temple
A UNESCO World Heritage temple housing the world's largest bronze Buddha statue inside the larges...
Yakushi-ji
Ancient Temple of Healing with the Frozen Music Pagoda
A World Heritage temple and one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara, celebrated for its elegant Ea...
Hokki-ji
Japan's Oldest Three-Storey Pagoda, Out in the Fields North-East of Horyu-ji
A small temple among fields on the north-east edge of Ikaruga. Its three-storey pagoda, finished ...
Tsubosakadera
Temple of Large Stone Buddhas Linked to Eye Ailments
A Shingon temple in Takatori, the sixth stop of the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage, known for a Kannon...
Muroji
Women's Koya and Japan's Smallest Outdoor Pagoda
Known as Women's Koya for welcoming female worshippers when Mount Koya banned them, this mountain...
Kimpusen-ji
Yoshino's Zao-do Hall and the Blue Zao Gongen, Shown Only in Spring and Autumn
The head temple of Kimpusen Shugen Honshu, a Shugendo school, halfway up Mount Yoshino. Its main ...
Hasedera
Mountain Temple Famous for Peonies
The head temple of the Shingon Buzan school, set on a hillside in Sakurai and known for its cover...
Tachibana-dera
The Temple That Marks the Traditional Birthplace of Prince Shotoku, with a Two-Faced Stone and an Old Pagoda Base
A Tendai temple on the spot where, by tradition, Prince Shotoku was born. The Asuka-period temple...
Asuka-dera
The Asuka Daibutsu, Dated by the Temple to 609 and Called by It Japan's Oldest Buddha Statue, Photos Allowed
A small hall in the fields of Asuka on the site of the temple Soga no Umako began in 588. Inside ...
Hozan-ji
Ikoma Shoten, a Temple Under a Cliff Reached by Japan's Oldest Cable Car
A working temple of prayer halfway up Mount Ikoma, where people come to ask Kangiten, known local...
Chogosonshi-ji
The Tiger Temple of Mount Shigi, Home Ground of Bishamonten and the Shigisan Engi Scrolls
A sprawling temple on Mount Shigi in Heguri, given over to Bishamonten and to tigers: legend says...