Visit Chusonji and the Pure Land temples of Hiraizumi

In the 11th and 12th centuries Hiraizumi, in Iwate Prefecture, was the administrative centre of northern Japan and rivalled Kyoto. The Oshu Fujiwara family built temples and gardens here that express the Buddhist Pure Land, a paradise on earth. UNESCO inscribed the site in 2011 as five components: Chuson-ji, Motsu-ji, the Kanjizaio-in site, the Muryoko-in site and the sacred Mount Kinkeisan. At Chuson-ji, built from 1124, the Konjikido or Golden Hall is a National Treasure, covered in gold leaf with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold lacquer, and holds eleven Buddha statues. The Sankozo museum displays treasures of four generations of Fujiwara. The temple’s lotuses, grown from seeds nearly 800 years old, bloom between mid-July and mid-August.

Sources: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Japan National Tourism Organization. Check the official sites for opening times and tickets. See also Tohoku.