Zuiryuji Temple
National Treasure Zen Temple in Takaoka
A Soto Zen temple in Takaoka built for the Maeda clan, whose main gate, Buddha hall, and Dharma h...
Miidera Temple
Perched on the slopes of Mount Hiei overlooking the blue waters of Lake Biwa, Miidera Temple has ...
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...
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...
Tairyuji Temple
Mountain Pilgrimage Temple Reached by a Long Ropeway
Temple 21 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage, set on a wooded mountain in Anan and usually reach...
Taima-dera
Two Ancient Pagodas Under Mount Nijo and the Temple of the Taima Mandala
A temple at the foot of Mount Nijo in Katsuragi, and the only one in Japan where both of its anci...
Dojo-ji
Wakayama's Oldest Temple and Home of the Anchin-Kiyohime Legend
The oldest temple in Wakayama, famed for the tragic Anchin-Kiyohime bell legend and for the livel...
Fukiji Temple
Home to One of Kyushu's Oldest Wooden Halls
A temple on the Kunisaki Peninsula whose Odo hall, a national treasure, is one of the oldest surv...
Higashi Hongan-ji
A Free Giant Seven Minutes from Kyoto Station, With a Rope of Hair
Head temple of the Otani branch of Jodo Shinshu, with a Goei-do 76 metres wide that the temple co...
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...
Gotoku-ji
The Setagaya Temple Where the Beckoning Cat Got Its Start
The Ii family's Edo temple in Setagaya, where shelves of white beckoning cats surround the Shofuk...
Jingo-ji
Four Hundred Steps Above the Kiyotaki Gorge
A mountain temple of 824 above the Kiyotaki gorge, reached by about 400 stone steps, where visito...
Okadera
Asuka's Hillside Temple for Warding Off Bad Luck, with Japan's Largest Clay Buddha
A temple on the slope of Mount Oka in Asuka, formally Ryugai-ji, that calls itself Japan's first ...
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...
Zentsuji
Head Temple Marking the Birthplace of Kobo Daishi
The head temple of the Zentsuji branch of Shingon Buddhism and the 75th temple on the Shikoku pil...