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Attraction · Nara

Kofuku-ji

A five-storey pagoda that has burned down five times and been rebuilt five times, standing at the edge of the deer park.

Time needed1 hour
Best timeMorning
CostGrounds free · halls charged
DistrictNara Park
About

The Fujiwara temple

Kofuku-ji was the clan temple of the Fujiwara, who effectively governed Japan for much of the Heian period, and at its height it held over 150 buildings and its own private army. Fire and the anti-Buddhist policies of the 1870s reduced it to a handful, but what remains is exceptional: a five-storey pagoda, Japan’s second tallest, and a treasure house holding some of the finest Buddhist sculpture in the country — including an eighth-century three-faced, six-armed Ashura that is among the most famous statues in Japan.

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What to See

What to look for

The grounds are free; the two things worth paying for are both indoors.

🗼 The pagoda

  • Five storeys, rebuilt in 1426 after the fifth fire
  • Free to see from the grounds at any hour

🗿 The treasure house

  • The eighth-century Ashura statue, and much else
  • The single best reason to buy a ticket in Nara

🏛 Central Golden Hall

  • Reconstructed and reopened in 2018 after a century of absence
Getting There

Getting there

At the western edge of Nara Park, closest of all the sights to the station.

🚆 By train

  • Kintetsu Nara station, about 5 minutes on foot
  • JR Nara is about 20 minutes

🚶 On foot

  • 5 minutes to Nara Park
  • 15 minutes to Todai-ji

🎫 Tickets

  • Grounds free; treasure house and halls charged separately
Best Time

When to visit

The first thing you reach from the station, so it suits an early start.

🌅 Morning

  • Quiet before the day trippers arrive from Kyoto and Osaka

🌃 Evening

  • The pagoda is floodlit and the grounds are open — free and empty

🌸 Season

  • Blossom around the pagoda and Sarusawa pond in early April
Visitor Intelligence

Visitor intelligence

Most visitors walk past it toward the deer, which is a mistake.

🗿 Priorities

  • If you buy one ticket in Nara, make it the treasure house

🗣 Language

  • Bilingual labelling in the treasure house, sparser outside

📷 Photography

  • The pagoda reflected in Sarusawa pond is the classic Nara image
  • Photography is prohibited inside the treasure house

♿ Access

  • Grounds are flat; halls have steps at their entrances
Nearby

Close by

Nara Park.

Nara Park
East · immediate
Naramachi
South · 10 min walk
Todai-ji
North-east · 15 min
Good to Know

Frequently asked

An eighth-century figure with three faces and six arms, held in Kofuku-ji’s treasure house, and among the most famous sculptures in Japan. Its unusually youthful, troubled expression is what makes it well known.
The grounds and the pagoda are free and open at all hours. The treasure house and the halls charge separately, and the treasure house is the one worth paying for.
About an hour including the treasure house. It sits closest to Kintetsu Nara station, so it works well as the first stop before walking on to the deer park and Todai-ji.
Repeated fires, and then the anti-Buddhist policies of the 1870s, reduced a complex of more than 150 buildings to a handful. The Central Golden Hall was only reconstructed and reopened in 2018.
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