Kimii-dera
Hillside Temple Known for Early Cherry Blossoms
A hillside temple founded in 770, the second stop on the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage, reached by 23...
Tofuku-ji
Kyoto's Supreme Autumn Foliage Temple
One of Kyoto's Five Great Zen Temples. Best autumn foliage in the city. The view from Tsutenkyo B...
Seiryo-ji
The Living Buddha of Saga and Its Hidden Treasures
Houses the 'Living Buddha' statue brought from China in 987, a wooden Shaka Nyorai said to replic...
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...
Fudarakusan-ji
The Nachi Beach Temple Where Monks Set Sail, Sealed In, for Kannon's Paradise
A small Tendai temple by Nachi beach, a branch of Seiganto-ji, where monks once set out in small ...
Rurikoji Temple
Rurikoji Temple Five-Story Pagoda
Rising above a tranquil pond garden, the five-story pagoda of Rurikoji Temple has been counted am...
Kencho-ji
Japan's First Zen Training Monastery
The first Zen training monastery in Japan, founded in 1253, and ranked first among Kamakura's Fiv...
Hase-dera
Hase-dera Temple
A hillside temple in Kamakura celebrated for its towering gilded Kannon statue, lush hydrangea ga...
Hokoku-ji
Kamakura's Bamboo Temple
The 'Bamboo Temple.' 2,000+ moso bamboo stalks behind the main hall. Small tea house inside the g...
Meigetsuin
The Hydrangea Temple of Kamakura
'Hydrangea Temple.' 2,500 blue bushes bloom in June, and the deep blue is called 'Meigetsuin Blue...
Rinno-ji
Nikko's Head Temple: Three Gilded Buddhas in Sanbutsudo and Iemitsu's Black-and-Gold Taiyuin
The Tendai temple that has run Nikko's mountain worship since the monk Shodo opened it in 766. Tw...
Naritasan Shinshoji Temple
Naritasan Shinshoji Temple is a major Buddhist temple founded in 940 AD that draws over 10 millio...
Rakan-ji Gohyaku Rakan
Five Hundred Stone Arhats in Rock-Cut Caves, Carved for the Silver Miners of Iwami Ginzan
Two caves cut into a rock face across the stream from Rakan-ji in Omori, each holding 250 small s...
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...
Eiheiji Temple
Eiheiji Zen Temple
One of two head temples of Soto Zen Buddhism, Eiheiji is an active monastery where over 100 monks...