Celebrating its 1,300th anniversary, Kofukuji temple has profoundly influenced Japanese culture.

Kofukuji Temple is an easy five-minute walk from Kintetsu Nara Station.

During the Heian period, Kofukuji was the temple of the most powerful family in Japan, the Fujiwara's. It was established in Nara in 710, at the same time as the capital.

Presently only two buildings of historic value remain, a five storey pagoda and a three storey pagoda.

If you like pagodas, you will love Kofukuji Temple. At 50 metres tall, the five-story pagoda is the second tallest wooden pagoda in Japan, and a symbol of the ancient capital of Nara. The tallest five-story pagoda can be found in neighboring Kyoto . Please note that the 5-storey pagode is under reconstruction until 2031!

The pagoda was built around 730, and rebuilt five times after being destroyed by fire. The current pagoda, which dates from around 1426, creates an impressive atmosphere with its long history.

Kofukuji contains many extremely valuable documents and treasures from Nara 's history as the capital of Japan. Many of these are displayed in the Kofukuji National Treasure Museum.

In addition to gilded images of Buddha, various masterpieces are enshrined, including a dry-laquered statue of Ashura, and the bronze head of Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of Medicine.

As a valuable repository of treasures including Buddhist sculptures, paintings, artifacts, books, old documents, and other objects that tell the history of Kofukuji, you can easily spend two to three hours exploring the temple!