🏛️ Culture

Kōfuku-ji

Nara, Japan

About Kōfuku-ji

Once one of the most powerful temples in Japan, moved to Nara in 710. Its famous five-storey pagoda, rebuilt in 1426, is currently hidden inside a protective enclosure for its first major restoration in about 120 years, expected to finish around 2031. The National Treasure Museum still holds superb Buddhist statues, including the Ashura figure.

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📍48 Noboriōji-chō, Nara, Nara, Japan

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Why it works for solo travelers

✓ Comfortable to visit on your own.
✓ Budget-friendly ($).

More solo-friendly culture in Nara →Nara solo travel guide →

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More Culture in Nara

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Tōdai-ji

The great temple of Nara, founded in the 8th century, whose Daibutsuden hall — one of the world's largest wooden buildings — houses a bronze Buddha about 15m tall. Pass the huge Nandaimon gate and its guardian statues on the way in, and look for the pillar with a hole said to bring enlightenment to those who squeeze through. Go early.

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Kasuga Taisha

Nara's most important Shinto shrine, founded in 768 and part of the UNESCO-listed Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara. The forest approach is lined with around 2,000 stone lanterns, and about 1,000 bronze lanterns hang from the vermilion corridors; all are lit only twice a year, in early February and mid-August. The outer grounds are free.

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