Nara
Kōfuku-ji's northern octagonal hall was first built in 721. The current reconstruction is c 1210, making it the second-oldest structure at Kōfuku-ji.
For a few weeks each fall and spring it is open to the public (admission ¥300) so visitors can see the hall's statues. The highlight is the principal image, Miroku Nyorai (the Buddha of the future), created by the workshop of Unkei, the leading sculptor of the Kamakura era.
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The covered Nishiki Market (Nishiki-kōji Ichiba) is one of Kyoto’s real highlights, especially if you have an interest in cooking and dining. Commonly…
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This César Pelli–designed tower, which opened in March 2014, is Japan's tallest building (300m, 60 storeys). The observatory on the 16th floor is free,…
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The thick green bamboo stalks seem to continue endlessly in every direction and there’s a strange quality to the light at this famous bamboo grove, which…
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Nara's star attraction is its Daibutsu (Great Buddha), one of the largest bronze statues in the world. It was unveiled in 752, upon the completion of the…
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Located atop 848m-high Hiei-zan (the mountain that dominates the skyline in the northeast of the city), the Enryaku-ji complex is an entire world of…
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Hōryū-ji was founded in 607 by Prince Shōtoku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest…
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A buzzing hive of activity perched on a hill overlooking the basin of Kyoto, Kiyomizu-dera is one of Kyoto's most popular and most enjoyable temples. It…
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With seemingly endless arcades of vermilion torii (shrine gates) spread across a thickly wooded mountain, this vast shrine complex is a world unto its own…
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Kōfuku-ji's southern octagonal hall, first built in 813 (and most recently reconstructed in 1789), enshrines an image of the bodhisattva Kannon.
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Kōfuku-ji was founded in Kyoto in 669 and relocated here in 710. The original Nara temple complex had 175 buildings, though much has been lost over the…
3. Kōfuku-ji Three-Storey Pagoda
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Kōfuku-ji's oldest structure is this often-overlooked, elegant three-storey pagoda built in 1181, a rare example of Heian-era architecture.
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Kōfuku-ji's Tōkondō is a National Treasure dating from 726 and rebuilt in 1415 (but paying homage to older structures). It houses several important…
5. Kōfuku-ji Five-Storey Pagoda
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Japan's second-tallest pagoda, at 50.1m; originally built in 730 and last reconstructed in 1426.
6. Kōfuku-ji National Treasure Museum
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Reopened in 2018, this compact museum houses Kōfuku-ji's most important works of art, many of which date to the 8th century (and have managed to survive…
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This world-class museum of Buddhist art is divided into two sections. Built in 1894 and strikingly renovated in 2016, the Nara Buddhist Sculpture Hall &…
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This garden was once part of Kofuku-ji and since 1919 has been a public garden, laid out in traditional fashion along paths around a pond. Most attractive…