Nagano and Zenko-ji

So I visited Zenko-ji today in Nagano.

As the Rough Guide says "Its believed to house the first image of Buddha to come to Japan." The morning service starts at 5:30 and apparently its amazing and worth attending as drums pound and 100s of pilgrims join in the prayers. However I missed my alarm and awoke at 8:00, fortunately I did get to see a prayer and have some video footage, which I may put up on the site later.

The temples are pretty impressive and it seems though Pepsi have got in on the action (see pic). The highlight of the temple visit is the search for the key to paradise, where you go through a pitch black corridor groping your way through searching for the key to paradise. I did well not to grope anyone and found the key. The key once found means that you`ll have eternal salvation.

A little further down from the temple is the Daikanjin which houses the high priest and also once the emperor stayed there. There are some gardens in the Daikanjin inner court and they are supposed to be beautiful but the snow got in the way when I went.

The area is beautiful with classic Japanese wooden buildings - the first site that I have had of the classic traditional Japan.