The cedar path
A shady climb.
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Chūson-ji is a Buddhist temple in the town of Hiraizumi in southern Iwate prefecture, the head temple of the Tendai sect in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, about 2 km from the town centre in a straight line. The temple says it was founded in 850, while historians credit Fujiwara no Kiyohira with founding it in 1095. In the early 12th century Kiyohira built more than forty halls and pagodas here, and Hiraizumi flourished for about a hundred years. In 2011 the temple was listed as a World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Monuments and Sites of Hiraizumi. You climb a sloping path shaded by towering cedars, with small halls under thatch and wooden roofs on either side, and lotus flowers bloom in the temple ponds in summer. Its most famous building is the Konjikidō, the Golden Hall, covered in gold leaf and kept inside a protective building. The path is steep at first, so wear comfortable shoes, and pair the visit with Mōtsū-ji temple and its garden in the same town. Autumn, when the trees turn, is one of the loveliest times.
A shady climb.
Inside a shelter.
Summer in the ponds.
Hiraizumi, Iwate prefecture, Japan
Steep at first.
Mōtsū-ji temple.