Temple 8 of the pilgrimage is Hasedera, called the Flower Temple, a beautiful site in Nara Prefecture. My own trip to Hasedera was unique along my helter-skelter pilgrimage route: rather than simply wander around taking pictures and reading information off my phone, I actually spent the night in a ryokan in the monzen machi (the…
Temple 6: Tsubosakadera 壷阪寺   Temple 7: Okadera岡寺 This month we explore temples six and seven on our thirty-three route, journeying a bit off the beaten path and into the wilds of Nara prefecture. Both of these temples are less accessible than the ones previously featured, but they are both worth a visit if you have…
今熊野観音寺 (15) and é©å ‚ (19) This month we have another Kyoto double feature! Temples 15 and 19 of the 33 temple pilgrimage are Imakumano Kannon-ji and Kodo. First up is Imakumano Kannon-ji, which literally means “present-day Kumano Kannon temple†and it has strong connections to temple 1 (Seiganto-ji), located in Wakayama in the area…
Mimuroto-ji is known as the “Flower Temple,†so it’s a great place to visit during blooming season. Although the gardens managed to look nice even at the ending-edge of winter, my personal recommendation would be to visit during May or especially June, for the blooming of their spectacular ajisai (hydrangea) garden (containing ten-thousand flowers in…
葛井寺 Fujii-dera is temple number 5 of 33 on the pilgrim circuit, and as its name “Wisteria Well Temple†would suggest, it is a wonderful place to visit when the fuji are in bloom. These fragrant purple flowers typically bloom in very late April or in early May, around Golden Week. Other than the gorgeous…
清水寺 As you prepare for the advent of spring, our quest for pilgrimage temples takes us further afield. Our next explorations will be into Kyoto, Osaka, and beyond.  There are five pilgrimage temples clustered right in the city of Kyoto, and we’ll get to the other four later on. We shall begin with one of…
大本山　ä¸å±±å¯º The easternmost of the pilgrimage temples located in Hyogo-ken is Nakayama-dera, number 24 on the official route. Nakayama-dera is located in the city of Takarazuka, and boasts a beautiful ume grove around back, in which about a thousand plum trees will be in bloom from late February through early March. Nakayama-dera’s claim to fame…
清水寺（æ’州） If you haven’t been to your first temple of the new year yet, consider giving Kiyomizudera a try! And I don’t even mean the one in Kyoto, though that it also part of our pilgrimage.  Banshu Kiyomizu-dera, or “Kiyomizudera II†(as it is the second of that name on the pilgrimage) is temple 25…
法è¯å±±ä¸€ä¹—寺 If the leaves are still holding on, our next temple (number 26 on the pilgrimage list) is another great place to see them. Ichijo-ji, located in Kasai City, was built in 650. Its three-storied pagoda, completed in 1171, is a Japanese National Treasure and is also the oldest pagoda in Hyogo prefecture. Access to…