贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 was founded in 607 by Prince Sh艒toku, considered by many to be the patron saint of Japanese Buddhism. It's renowned not only as one of the oldest temples in Japan but also as a repository for some of the country鈥檚 rarest and most-outstanding examples of early Buddhist sculpture. There's an entire gallery of 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 treasures at the Tokyo National Museum. Some of the temple鈥檚 buildings are considered to be the world's oldest existing wooden structures.
The temple is divided into two parts: Sai-in (West Temple) and 罢艒-颈苍 (East Temple); pick up a detailed map and guidebook in English. The main approach proceeds from the south along a tree-lined avenue and through the Nandai-mon and Ch奴-mon gates before entering the Sai-in precinct. As you enter, you'll see the 碍辞苍诲艒 (Main Hall) on your right (look up to see the fantastic carvings of mythical beasts on the eaves) and a pagoda on your left; both are considered the oldest of their kind, though they have been repaired over the years.
The 碍辞苍诲艒 houses several treasures, including the gilt-bronze triad of the Buddha Sakyamuni with two attendant bodhisattvas, created in 623 by one of the leading sculptors of the day; the Buddha's serene, enigmatic smile is captivating. There are many more works of art inside the 顿补颈丑艒锄艒-颈苍 (Great Treasure Hall).
Continue east through the T艒dai-mon to 罢艒-颈苍. Here the Yumedono (Hall of Dreams), built in 739 as a place to pray for the repose of Prince Sh艒toku's soul, houses another famous work of art: the Guze Kannon, a 7th-century sculpture of the bodhisattva Kannon (Buddhist goddess of mercy) carved from a single piece of camphor wood and sheathed in gold leaf.
The quickest way to get to 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 is by train: take a JR Yamatoji-line train from JR Nara Station to 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 Station (楼220, 11 minutes), then pick up bus 72 (楼180, eight minutes, every 20 minutes 9am to 4.45pm) to 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 Sand艒, right at the temple entrance.
Bus 98 departs from stop 8 at Nara Kintetsu Station and stop 6 at JR Nara Station for 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈-mae (楼760, 65 minutes, hourly 9am to 4pm). Returning to Nara, take bus 97 from platform 2 at the 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈-mae bus stop. To save money, purchase a Nara Park Nishinoky艒 贬艒谤测奴-箩颈 one-day bus pass (楼1000), which also includes bus travel to Yakushi-ji and 罢艒蝉丑艒诲补颈-箩颈 and around Nara.
