Everyone who visits Japan will inevitably visit some famous temple or shrine, snap a few pictures and be done with it. But your visit can be made more memorable if you collect Goshu-in, unique stamps that each shrine or temple makes for visitors. You’ll need a special book which opens accordion style, which you will…
Tag: temple
Tohoku Week – Yamadera
Editors Note: We’re back from vacation and celebrating with a week of posts about our vacation destination: Tohoku! Beat the summer heat of Tokyo and the wall-to-wall crowds of Kyoto and visit Tohoku in northern Japan instead! Located just a half hour outside of Yamagata city in the Prefecture of the same name, Yamadera literally means…
Engaku-ji
Though not exactly a hidden gem in the popular tourist destination of Kamakura, this major Zen Buddhist temple is not as crowded as Kōtoku-in, home of the Giant Buddha. This is partly due to the fact that Engaku-ji is located just outside Kita-Kamakura station, one stop from the more popular Kamakura station. Still, Engaku-ji is…
Eihei-ji
Eihei-ji temple is one of the head temples of the Soto Zen Buddhism sect and the temple grounds contain over 70 buildings housing up to 250 monks. Located in Fukui Prefecture, the area would not receive a lot of tourism if not for Eihei-ji’s tourist friendly policies and information. Tourists can explore much of the…
Kamakura Daibutsu
The giant Buddha statue of Kotoku-in temple draws millions of visitors every year to Kamakura, a town already full of beautiful and ancient temples. The statue was cast over 750 years ago and has survived (more or less) many disasters including several lightning strike fires, earthquakes and even a tsunami in 1498. It is over…
南禅寺 Nanzenji (Kyoto)
Nanzenji is one of Kyoto’s most beautiful temples, in the foothills on the eastern side of the city. However, one can’t help but notice the large brick structure that cuts through the temple grounds. The structure is an aqueduct built to carry water and goods to the people of the neighboring Shiga prefecture. Though the…
365 JAPAN 