During our stopover in Japan, Vicki and I headed to the Shingon Buddhist temple in Narita city. This is a pretty incredible experience, and you can really see the age and stunning façade of the buildings all around you. Japanese religious architecture is some of the most famous in East Asia, and it’s easy to see why. The harmonious design of the gardens that often surround them, the distinctly Japanese take on pagoda design and some amazing mythological sculptures make them incredible places to visit.

So if you’re looking at www.fly.com and wondering what part of Japan to visit, let me persuade you – Tokyo isn’t the only destination if you want a good handle on Japanese culture. Their temples – and Buddhism, for that matter – are very important to them, and their maintenance of these locations demonstrates this very well. But some of the temples seem mysterious at first, so it’s important to do some research to fully enjoy their majesty.

According to Wikipedia:

This temple is one of the most well known in the Kant region of Japan and is only surpassed in visitors during the O-shogatsu period (lit: New year period) by the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. The temple grounds are composed of a main gate, a steep stairwell and the main buildings (including a couple of five-story pagodas), and a garden area with large pond. A very small zoo is also within the temple grounds.

One of the many temples at the Shingon Buddhist temple.

One of the many temples at the Shingon Buddhist temple.

Cute turtle at the Shingon Buddhist temple in Narita, Japan.

Cute turtle. There were hundreds of these all over the place.

Garden at the Shingon Buddhist temple in Narita, Japan.

Garden area at the Shingon Buddhist temple

Statues at the Shingon Buddhist temple in Narita, Japan.

Statues at the Shingon Buddhist temple

Nice view from behind one of the temples

Nice view from behind one of the temples