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 ...
Kongobu-ji
Head Temple of Koyasan and Shingon Buddhism
The administrative head temple of the Koyasan Shingon school, known for its sweeping tiled roof, ...
Manpuku-ji
Ming Chinese Zen in Uji, With a Monks' Vegetarian Lunch by Booking
Head temple of the Obaku school of Zen, founded in 1661 by the Chinese monk Ingen and built in la...
Sanzen-in
Ohara's Moss Garden and Its Small Hidden Jizo
A Tendai monzeki temple in the Ohara valley, an hour north of the city, where moss gardens hide s...
Honno-ji
The Temple Where Nobunaga Died, Rebuilt Ten Years Later Across Town
The Nichiren-school temple linked to Oda Nobunaga's death in 1582, rebuilt on Teramachi-dori in 1...
Sengaku-ji
Where the 47 Ronin Lie Beside the Lord They Avenged
The Zen temple in Takanawa where the 47 ronin of the Chushingura story are buried beside their lo...
Daisho-in
Prayer Wheels and Rows of Rakan Statues at the Foot of Mount Misen
Miyajima's oldest temple, at the foot of Mount Misen, traced by tradition to Kukai in 806. Stone ...
Abe Monju-in
Kaikei's 7-Metre Monju on a Lion, Abe no Seimei's Hall and a Cosmos Maze in Sakurai
A temple of the Abe clan south of Sakurai Station. The main hall holds a group of five National T...
Shokoku-ji
Kinkaku-ji's Head Temple, With a Crying Dragon and Jakuchu Paintings
The head temple of Kinkaku-ji and Ginkaku-ji, just north of the Imperial Palace, with Japan's old...
Mitaki-dera
Three Small Waterfalls and a Red Pagoda in the Hills Above Hiroshima
A Shingon temple on a wooded slope in Nishi Ward, named for the three small waterfalls on its gro...
Kiyoshikojin Seicho-ji Temple
A climbing shopping street leads to Kiyoshikojin, where Buddhist worship meets devotion to the gu...
Tsukiji Hongan-ji
An Indian-Style Temple with a Pipe Organ and an 18-Dish Breakfast
A Jodo Shinshu temple whose 1934 main hall, designed by Ito Chuta, looks like ancient Indian Budd...
Kan'ei-ji
The Shogun Temple That Lost Most of Its Land to Ueno Park
Founded in 1625 by the monk Tenkai as the 'Hiei of the east', Kan'ei-ji was the Tokugawa family t...
Ukimido Floating Hall
Lakeside Temple Hall Standing Over the Water at Katata
A small temple hall of Mangetsu-ji that stands out over Lake Biwa on piles at Katata, long celebr...