Why is Horyuji Temple seldom on a tour list?

Hi all,
I noticed that Horyuji Temple is on a World Heritage site list. But it seems it is not as popular as the other temples for the tourists.

Why is that so?

Its "isolated" location from other sights makes it time consuming to access. And there is no lack of other World Heritage site in nearby Nara and Kyoto.

The Temple is the world's oldest wooden structure, and the 1st world heritage in Japan.

But at a glance, it's one of a large Japanese temples, not as big as Todaiji in Nara, Not as gorgeous as Nikko Toshogu, not as beautiful as Itsukushima shrine.

It recieves better reputation from professonal researchers and architects, but not from tourists.

Thanks so much for the info.

I have wondered this myself, although I must say my friends and I made time for it in our itinerary when we visited in 2010. I loved the temple and also the surrounds. We stayed in nearby Oji so it was a very short jaunt from there. Just my two cents!

There are many excellent sites (World Heritage and not) that are well worth visiting but rarely on itineraries. Most often it is a matter of time and convenience that prevents people from venturing to these places.

For Horyuji, I think Uji is right. It is at least perceived to be out of the way and in spite of its 'oldest' title and being a World Heritage Site, a lot of travelers prefer not to venture that far and some also may feel that it's 'just another temple'.

Just wondering if isolation is the case, there are other temples that would be consider isolated too but yet gained popularity. Itsukushima Shrine in Miyajima would be considered equally "isolated", wouldn't it? Yet people would take the time to reach out to it.

This is just a curiosity on my part.

Interesting. I chose to visit Horyuji on the way to central Nara, because I thought it was easy to access. We were taking the JR line from Osaka anyway.

Unfortunately we happened to be there at the same time as dozens of school groups on a class trip... The temple area was lovely, but CROWDED.

According to Japan-guide it seems fairly widely visited.

It ranks 3rd on places visited in Nara, only behind Todaiji and Nara Park. It is ahead of Kofukuji and Kasuga Taisha.

Obviously not highly accurate but interesting nonetheless.

I think Miyajima offers quite a few other points of interest plus it is probably a little more "iconic" (ie. photo used in advertising etc.)

I guess it is like asking why Shikoku isn't on more people's itineraries. Or Tohoku. Or so many other places around the country ...

Itsukushima Shrine also has the advantage of being close to Hiroshima, which for many travelers is a must-visit location.

Horyuji is in reality NOT isolated. As you say, it's actually very easy to reach and can easily be done along with other sites in Nara in one day, but Horyuji (I think) APPEARS to be isolated and many people would rather just see the sites they can visit on foot in Nara rather than getting on the train to go somewhere else.

Sometimes it also depends on which sites their guidebooks/magazines/websites tout as being the top attractions and if they organize it in a way that makes it sound distant or close.

There are many places that I think more people should go, but they never will and sometimes that's what allows them to retain their charm.

Thanks for the interesting and valuable opinions.

Most people would have had an overdose already in Kyoto and Nara City.

Actually Horyuji Temple is ''THE'' temple of all temples in Japan, the most valuable historical asset of the country, the first UNESCO WH to get registered in Japan, with impressive numbers of national treasures (a tiny part of which can be seen in Tokyo National Museum's Horyuji Treasures Gallery). It's also very beautiful in a simplistic way- whether you like glittering and glamorous Toshogu shrine and Rinnoji temple in Nikko or the noble and authentic Horyuji and its entasis pillars is a matter of taste.