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Quiet Shrines & Temples? 2008/4/7 21:25
I will be in Japan in mid May and amongst other things I will be visiting a few temples and shrines. Last time I visited Japan it was in November and many of the shrines were very busy, especially in Kyoto and especially with large groups of children on school trips. Will May be a less busy time (ie no school trips or holidays), or is the only way to see temples and shrines in some tranquillity, to get there very early in the morning?
by phil  

shrines and temples 2008/4/8 13:27
look for shrines that are off the beaten path of Western tourists.. once I visited 2 of the 36 temples within Myoshin-ji. it was on a festival day yet we were the only ones in these 2 temples and their gardens and,as a result, we even got a free guided tour.
by Monkey see rate this post as useful

luck 2008/4/9 01:19
You can certainly run into school tours in May, based on our experience. In some ways, they're delightful. But the best way to have a quiet experience is to arrive at a temple early or late. We arrived at Horyuji at opening one day, and had about a half hour of peace before the tours (not just kids) descended. The other course is to visit out of the way places. an example would be Taimadera, which is deep in the Yamato plain, and requires a number of train changes from Kyoto. It has two very ancient 3 story pagodas, and is seldom visited.
by Tay rate this post as useful

Thanks for the advice. 2008/4/9 07:52
I will try and carefully pick some less well-known sites and put any of the more popular ones as my first of the day to visit.

And Tay, yes the parties of children on school trips arenft entirely bad as I did find being asked random questions like gwhatfs your favourite Japanese food?h quite fun. But sometimes it would be nice to have a more personal experience at a religious site. Roll on May!!
by Phil rate this post as useful

... 2008/4/9 09:03
have you considered doing a temple stay? That is a great way to see a temple from a different perspective and without crowds. Check out Koyasan in Wakayama prefecture:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4900.html
by yllwsmrf rate this post as useful

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