Nagano 長野
Famous for the 1998 Winter Olympics, Nagano (pop. 359,000) is also the capital of the prefecture of the same name, at the heart of the Japanese Alps.
Like the town of Narita, life in Nagano revolves around one temple, Zenko-ji, bringing millions of visitors from all over Japan.
Zenko-ji Temple 善光寺
One of the particularity of this temple is that it does not really belong to any Buddhist sect, although it now has affiliations with the Jodo and Tendai sects. Its popularity is due to its acceptance of female pilgrims since ancient times, something rare among Japanese Buddhist temples. There are now some 60 Zenko-ji temples throughout Japan.
Zenkoji is one of Japan's oldest temple, believed to have been founded in the 7th century by Yoshimitsu Honda, and hosting what probably the first Buddhist image to be imported to Japan in 552 : Ikko Sanzon (一向三尊).
The image was made sacred in 654 and has since been kept hidden from the public. Every 6 years, a replica ("Maedachi-honzon") is taken out of the treasure house and displayed to visitors in the Main Hall ("Kondo" 金堂). This event is called Gokaicho (御開帳)
The Main Hall dates from 707 (although reonstructed many times) and has the largest hinoki-thatched roof in Japan.
Inside the Main Hall, a small ticket window sells tickets to the underground passage under the holy altar ("ruridan"). Once you have descended into this pitch-black tunnel, try to find the key to the Buddhist paradise in the darkness. It is a heavy metallic object on the right-hand side.
How to get there
The journey from Ueno Station takes about 1 hour 50 minutes and cost approxiately ￥7,500.
The cheapest way to access Nagano from Tokyo is by bus (about 3h30). Club Tocoo has coaches from ￥1480 one-way.
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