Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [328]
Murō-ji
Founded in the 9th century, this temple (0745-93-2003; admission ¥600; 8am-5pm, 8.30am-4pm Dec-Feb) has strong connections with Esoteric Buddhism (the Shingon sect). Women were never excluded from Murō-ji as they were from other Shingon temples, and it is for this reason that it came to be known as ‘the Woman’s Koya’. Unfortunately, the temple’s lovely five-storey pagoda, which dates from the 8th or 9th century, was severely damaged in a typhoon in the summer of 1999. The newly rebuilt pagoda lacks some of the rustic charm of the old one. Nonetheless, Murō-ji is a secluded place in thick forest and is well worth a visit. Enter by 30 minutes before closing.
After visiting the main hall, walk up to the pagoda and then continue on behind the pagoda in the direction of Oku-no-in, a hall of the temple located at the top of a very steep flight of steps. If you don’t feel like making the climb, at least go about 100m past the pagoda to see the mammoth cedar tree growing over a huge rock here.
Murōguchi-ōno Station on the Kintetsu Osaka line is two stops east of Hasedera Station. It’s a 14-minute bus ride from Murōguchi-ōno Station to Murō-ji on bus 43, 44, 45 or 46 (¥400). In spring, there is a direct bus between Hase-dera and Murō-ji (¥830, end of April to early May, one or two buses per hour between 11am and 3pm).
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YOSHINO
0746 / pop 9600
Yoshino is Japan’s top cherry-blossom destination, and for a few weeks in early to mid-April the blossoms of thousands of cherry trees form a floral carpet gradually ascending the mountainsides. It’s definitely a sight worth seeing, but the narrow streets of the village become jammed tight with thousands of visitors at this time, and you’ll have to be content with a day trip unless you’ve booked accommodation long in advance. Once the cherry-blossom petals fall, the crowds depart and Yoshino reverts to a sleepy village with a handful of shrines and a couple of temples to entertain day-trippers.
Information
Yoshino Visitors Center (32-3081;9am-5pm, closed Jan & Feb) is about 500m up the main street from the top cable-car station, on your right just after Kimpusen-ji (look for the large tan-and-white building). It can help with minshuku bookings if necessary. The Yoshino town webpage (www.town.yoshino.nara.jp/sakura_off/kaika/index.htm, in Japanese) has the best information on when the trees will bloom.
Sights
Walk about 400m uphill from the cable-car station and you will come to the stone steps leading to the Niō-mon gate of Kimpusen-ji (; 32-8371; admission ¥400; 8.30am-4.30pm). Check out the fearsome Kongō Rikishi (guardian figure statues) in the gate and then continue on to the massive Zaō-dō Hall of the temple. Said to be the second-largest wooden building in Japan, the hall is most interesting for its unfinished wooden columns. For many centuries Kimpusen-ji has been one of the major centres for Shugendō, and pilgrims have often stopped here to pray for good fortune on the journey to Ōmine-san.
Continuing another 300m up the street brings you to a side road to the left (the first turn past the post office) that leads to Yoshimizu-jinja (), a small shrine that has a good view back to Kimpusen-ji and the hito-me-sen-bon (1000 trees in a glance) viewpoint. The shrine has played host to several important historical figures. Minamoto Yoshitsune, a legendary swordsman and general, fled here after incurring the wrath of his brother, the first Kamakura shōgun. Emperor Go-Daigo set up a rival southern court in Yoshino after a dispute for succession broke out in Kyoto. He stayed here while his palace was being built and the shrine displays a collection of scrolls, armour and painted murals from his stay (admission ¥400). It also entertained Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his 5000-person hanami party in 1594.
Another 150m up