A Tōdai-ji Travel Guide to Timeless History and Culture

In 728, “Kinshōzan-ji” was built to pray for the soul of Prince Motoi (the crown prince of Emperor Shōmu).
During Emperor Shōmu’s reign, many disasters struck, including famines and epidemics. Believing that “the power of the Buddha could protect the nation,” Emperor Shōmu ordered the construction of temples.
Under that order, “Kinshōzan-ji” was elevated to a provincial temple (a temple built under imperial command), renamed “Konkōmyō-ji.” “Konkōmyō-ji” is the predecessor of today’s “Tōdai-ji.”
In 743, wishing for peace in the country, Emperor Shōmu ordered the creation of a Great Buddha.
The Great Buddha made under that order is the “Rushana Buddha” enshrined at Tōdai-ji today.
After that, various buildings were constructed, completing “Tōdai-ji,” where prayers for peace are offered.
However, in 855, a major earthquake and a lightning strike caused buildings such as the Lecture Hall and the Great South Gate to collapse.
In 1180, an attack by Taira no Shigehira burned down the Great Buddha Hall as well.
The Great Buddha Hall was rebuilt in 1190, but during the Warring States period, multiple buildings were caught in the flames of war and destroyed by fire.
In the Edo period, repairs were approved, and the restoration of lost structures was also achieved.
Since the Meiji era, renovations and repairs have been repeated, leading to the present day.

The Hours for the Great Buddha Hall and the Tōdai-ji Museum vary by season, so please keep this in mind when visiting.

The four facilities—the Great Buddha Hall, Hokke-dō, Senju-dō, and the Tōdai-ji Museum—each require the Admission fees below.
Payment is cash only, so be sure to come prepared.

The Great Buddha Hall, Tōdai-ji’s main hall, is Approx. 48 m tall and 57 m wide, making it one of the world’s largest wooden buildings. In 1952, it was designated a National Treasure.
The current building was rebuilt in the Edo period, but the original Great Buddha Hall at the time of its founding is said to have been about 1.5 times wider than today’s.
Inside the Great Buddha Hall is the Rushana Buddha (Seated Statue), beloved as the “Great Buddha of Nara,” with an overwhelming presence at Approx. 15 m tall and weighing 250 tons.
There is also a pillar with a hole said to be the same size as the Great Buddha’s nostril; it’s believed that passing through it brings blessings of good health and fulfilled wishes.

One of Japan’s largest two-story gates.
With its complex structure as an irimoya-style, five-bay, three-door, two-story gate, it’s also designated a National Treasure.
Eighteen large round pillars, each 21 m tall, are built in, and the gate reaches Approx. 25 m in height including the base.
Inside the gate, the Agyō Kongō Rikishi (Niō) statue is placed on the west side, and the Ungyō statue on the east side.
Like the Great South Gate, the Kongō Rikishi statues are also designated National Treasures and are always featured in Japanese history textbooks.
It’s astonishing to hear they were completed in just 69 days in 1203 by Buddhist sculptors of the time.
In summer, it’s lit up along with the Great Buddha Hall and the Middle Gate corridor.
The light and shadow become more defined, making the beauty of the carvings stand out even more.
On the back side, you’ll find stone lion statues, Important Cultural Properties said to be Japan’s oldest komainu.

Its name, Nigatsu-dō, comes from the Buddhist service held in the hall in the second month of the lunar calendar.
It burned down in a fire in 1667 and was rebuilt two years later in 1669.
With its yosemune-style roof and butai-zukuri structure, it’s designated a National Treasure.
Butai-zukuri is an architectural style in which flooring is set using the natural terrain.
On the southern stone steps leading to the building, patterns are engraved on the first through third steps.
Don’t miss the beautiful motifs carved by craftsmen of the time, such as arabesque patterns, seigaiha waves, and ajiro lattice.

In 754, the Tang-dynasty monk Ganjin Wajō visited Japan, and the emperor at the time became a Buddhist.
Kaidan-in Kaidan-dō was built at the place where the emperor received and vowed to uphold Buddhist precepts.
Though it was destroyed in the 1180 fire, it was rebuilt in 1732.
Kaidan-in Kaidan-dō itself is designated a prefectural Important Cultural Property, and it also enshrines the National Treasure “Four Heavenly Kings” statues: Tamonten, Kōmokuten, Zōchōten, and Jikokuten.
From July 1, 2020 until fall 2023, visits have been temporarily suspended due to repairs and seismic retrofitting. Instead, Kaidan-in Senju-dō is being opened to the public as a special exhibition.
It is scheduled to reopen in fall 2023.

Tōdai-ji’s oldest building, said to have been founded sometime between 733 and 747.
From the beginning, it used a twin-hall layout with a main hall and a worship hall, but the worship hall was newly built in 1199 by the monk Chōgen.
It is considered one of the buildings of “Kinshōzan-ji,” the predecessor of “Tōdai-ji,” and is also where the Kegon Sutra was first lectured on in Japan.
Hokke-dō is also designated a National Treasure.

It began when it was built as Yamashina-dera, the private temple at the residence of Fujiwara no Kamatari, in Yamashina Suehara, Yamashiro Province. In Wadō 3 (710), with the transfer of the capital to Heijō-kyō, it was moved to its current location under a plan by Fujiwara no Fuhito and renamed “Kōfuku-ji.”
It flourished as one of the “Four Great Temples” in the Nara period and one of the “Seven Great Temples” in the Heian period, but most of it was burned down in the 1180 Nanto arson attack by Taira no Shigehira.
It was restored in the Kamakura period, but afterward it repeatedly suffered damage and rebuilding, and in Kyōhō 2 (1717) in the Edo period, a fire burned down the central temple complex except for the Hokuendō, Tōkondō, Five-story Pagoda, Three-story Pagoda, and Jikidō (refectory).
After that, restoration gradually progressed, and in 2018, the Chū-kondō was reconstructed for the first time in about 300 years.

At the beginning of the Nara period, it is said that Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto came from Kashima in Ibaraki Prefecture riding a sacred deer and descended upon Mount Mikasa to protect Heijō-kyō and ensure the nation’s prosperity. In 768, the main sanctuary was built at the foot of Mount Mikasa, enshrining four deities—Takemikazuchi-no-Mikoto, Futsunushi-no-Mikoto, Ame-no-Koyane-no-Mikoto, and Himegami—which is considered its beginning.
Even today, as many as 2,200 Shinto rituals are held each year, and the Kasuga Festival held on March 13 has continued for over 1,200 years and is one of Japan’s three major imperial festivals.
Mount Mikasa (Mount Kasuga) is a sacred mountain believed since ancient times to be a holy place where deities reside.
Because hunting and logging were prohibited in the Heian period, the primeval forest remains today and is designated a Special Natural Monument of Japan.
In 1998, Kasuga Taisha Shrine and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest were registered as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.”

A park area spanning Approx. 1.3 ha, located at the southern end of Nara Park, south of Ukimi-dō Pavilion and Sagi Pond.
As a spectacular scenic spot where Yugayama and Sagi Pond form a unified landscape, it received an additional designation in 1927 as part of the nationally designated cultural property “Scenic Site: Nara Park.”
This area was once the site of a villa owned by Mr. Kichirōbei Yamaguchi, who was active in Osaka’s business world from the Meiji through Taishō periods, and historical records remain that literati and artists once gathered here to socialize.
The garden within the park is a representative modern garden of Nara Park, and after restoration and improvement by the prefecture, it began opening to the public in 2020.
The garden features paths that make use of Yugayama’s rises and dips, letting you enjoy a relaxed stroll through its varied elevations.

A wooden building tucked away near the west side of the Tōdai-ji grounds.
In the past, a lactic acid bacteria drink called “Futorumin” was researched, produced, and sold here.
After it closed in 1980, about 30 years later, the owner—who is the great-grandchild of the business founder—opened the former office section as a cafe in 2009. That cafe is “Kōjō-ato Jimushitsu.”

For over 60 years since opening in 1959, the long-established kamameshi specialty restaurant “Kamameshi Shizuka” has operated two locations in Nara City.
Even now that it has become a famous spot that always comes up when people think of kamameshi in Nara, it still sticks to its style of carefully cooking each pot over an open flame only after an order is placed.
“Shizuka” kamameshi is the kind you’ll happily wait in line for.

A sukiyaki restaurant located on the first floor of the “Shikazarukitsune Building,” a notable spot by Nara’s long-established Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten, known for craftsmanship rooted in Japanese craft.
Owner-chef Shusaku Toba of the restaurant “sio,” which earned one Michelin star for three consecutive years starting with the MICHELIN Guide Tokyo 2020, presents a new way to enjoy sukiyaki through innovative menus centered on sukiyaki.

A small culinary inn that evokes the charm of a classic Nara machiya townhouse, located on the far northern edge of Nara Park, near where the Great Buddha Hall stands.
Pass through the entrance of stone paving sprinkled with water, and you’ll be welcomed by a distinctive building featuring spaces with earthen floors and an open atrium ceiling.
Each of the 12 guest rooms has its own character and design, offering a range of types, mainly Japanese-style tatami rooms with the scent of igusa, as well as Japanese-western rooms with beds.

A Japanese cuisine auberge on the hillside of Mount Wakakusa, grand-opened in July 2020 after renovating an inn that had been loved for over half a century.
The concept is “peace of mind” born from “harmony with nature” and “connection with the local community.”
Its pride is, above all, the view of the ancient capital of Nara from the mountainside. From various points throughout the property—such as the newly added open-air bath on the rooftop, the penthouse suite, the lobby, and most guest rooms—you can take in sweeping views of the Great Buddha Hall of Tōdai-ji, the five-story pagoda of Kōfuku-ji, and Nara’s city area.

In September 2021, the 9th location of the lifestyle hotel brand “THE SHARE HOTELS” opened by Araike Pond at the southern end of Nara Park. The name “MIROKU” comes from Nara’s beautiful foothills and deer (“Mi” for beauty + “Roku” for foothills/deer) and from Miroku Bosatsu (Maitreya Bodhisattva), a Buddha who is said to save people in the next world.
With Nara Park to the north and Naramachi to the west, the location—where nature and city come together in ancient Nara—is superb. The Nara-like views, overlooking the UNESCO-listed five-story pagoda of Kōfuku-ji and the Kasugayama Primeval Forest, are also exceptional.