Hotels near Kasuga Taisha

Kasuga Taisha was founded in 768 as the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara clan, and for centuries it was demolished and rebuilt every twenty years under the shikinen zotai tradition. Around 2,000 stone lanterns line the wooded approach, and roughly 1,000 bronze lanterns hang from the corridors of the inner shrine. Donors have been paying for them since the Muromachi period. Many still carry the carved family name of the merchant who gave it.

The outer grounds cost nothing. The inner area is 700 yen and opens 6:30am to 5:30pm from April to September, 7am to 5pm the rest of the year. Inside, the Fujinaya corridor is kept dark with its bronze lanterns lit, which is the closest you get to the full effect outside a festival date. Every lantern on the site is lit twice a year: Setsubun Mantoro on 3 February and Chugen Mantoro on 14 and 15 August.

Pro Tip: Walk in along the Omotesando approach from Nara Park instead of riding the bus to the upper stop. Those 20 minutes through cedar forest, past ranks of moss-covered stone lanterns with deer crossing the path, are the better half of the visit.