The City of Nagano & Zenkoji Temple

It was a fairly easy ride to the city of Nagano today. Both the cities of Matsumoto and Nagano lay at around the same altitude so the road to Nagano was mostly level.

The road to Nagano City

I covered the 76km to Nagano in a few hours and was in the city by lunchtime. Checked into a decent business hotel next to JR Nagano station and then went off to take a look at the city`s main attraction - Zenkoji Temple.

Zenkoji Temple is apparently one of Japan`s oldest Buddhist temples and like Matsumoto Castle, it is also a designated National Treasure. From JR Nagano station, a straight road led directly to the entrance of the temple.

The outer gate of Zenkoji Temple

Unfortunately, I did not get to see the inner gate of the temple as it was under repair. Apparently, this is the first time the gate is being repaired in the Heisei period. According to the guide at the temple, repairs started in late 2002 and are expected to be completed by the end of this year. The repair work takes such a long time due to the intricate woodwork involved in the construction of the gate.

The inner gate that was under repair

The main hall of Zenkoji Temple

Inside the main hall of the temple, there were scores of visitors. Some were there just for the sightseeing but many others were there to pray. At the entrance of the temple, there was a wooden statue of a famous Buddhist disciple (not sure whats the name). Apparently, if you had an ailment in any part of your body, you could have it healed just by touching the corresponding part on the statue! Most parts of the statue had been worn smooth by the hands of countless visitors and according to the guide, the face of the statue had been recently replaced because all the features had been worn off by the touching!

Too bad photography was prohibited in the temple... wanted to take a picture of that statue... haha...

Total Distance to date = 1,590km