Hotels near Todai-ji

Todai-ji was consecrated in 752, and its Great Buddha Hall, the Daibutsuden, is still among the largest wooden buildings on the planet at 57 m wide and 48 m tall. The hall you walk into today was rebuilt in 1709 and is roughly two thirds the width of the original. Inside sits the Daibutsu, a seated bronze Vairocana Buddha standing 15 m high, cast from something close to 500 tonnes of copper and bronze in a project that came near to bankrupting the Nara court.

Admission is 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for children. The hall opens 7:30am to 5:30pm from April to October and 8am to 5pm from November to March. Behind the Buddha stands a wooden pillar with a hole cut at its base, said to match the width of the Daibutsu's nostril; squeezing through it supposedly grants enlightenment, and children manage the manoeuvre with considerably more grace than adults. On the approach, Nandaimon Gate shelters two 8.4 m Nio guardians carved by Unkei and Kaikei in 1203.

Pro Tip: Be at the gate for the 7:30am summer opening. That buys you about twenty minutes with the Great Buddha before the first school groups arrive from Kintetsu Nara Station, and the hall is quiet enough to hear the floorboards.