Beautiful Buddhist temple that was originally built in 998. This temple has an impressive history spanning over 1000 years and today is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Buying an extra ticket (300 JPY) is required to enter the Phoenix hall - the main building of the temple that contains a huge image of Amida Buddha inside, with two phoenixes adorning the roof. The thing is that those visits to the Phoenix hall are time-limited (every 20 minutes starting from 9:30 am) and you are accompanied by a guide who will provide the most boring 10-minute lecture, and it's only in Japanese, and there is no way to avoid it 🥲 Plus, it is not allowed to take any photos/videos inside.

I do not recommend going inside the Phoenix hall if:

• it is the summer peak and scorching hot outside (it will be even hotter inside)

• you do not have a lot of spare time

• If you have already been to some grand Temples that have their own huge Buddha statues inside (for example as in Todaiji in Nara) Otherwise, it might be worth checking it out. If you decide to go in there, check the time on your ticket, and if the entry time will be in 15 minutes or more, you will have plenty of time to check out the rest of the Temple's grounds and come back to the entry point of the Phoenix Hall a couple of minutes before the entry time.

Before you leave the Temple, be sure to check out its Hoshokan Museum (entry fee is included in the Temple's base ticket) which features national treasures from the temple, such as the Temple Bell and statues of the Praying Bodhisattva on Clouds. I am pretty neutral about Museums, but this one was pretty impressive even for me. Please note that it is also not allowed to take any photos/videos inside the Museum.

Oh and last but not least, when you arrive in Japan, take a look at one of your 10 yen coins... Yep, it is this Temple that is depicted on every 10 yen coin.