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Top 10 shrines & temples

• Enryaku-ji, Hiei-zan, near Kyoto
  As I described in the Japan top 10, the atmosphere in this temple is absolutely compelling. Even on crowded days, that special something is still discernible.
  
  
• Eihei-ji, Fukui-ken
  What I love about Eihei-ji is the fact that it's still a fully-functioning monastery. It's also very beautiful; the weathered old buildings seem at one with the mossy hillside and towering cedar trees. My first visit to the temple took place on a snowy winter's day - the scene could have come straight out of an ink painting.
  
  
• Horyu-ji & Chugu-ji, near Nara
  These two temples not only boast the world's oldest wooden building (late 7C), but also a superb array of Buddhist statues. My favourite is probably Chugu-ji's supremely sensitive figure of Miroku Bosatsu, but it's a difficult choice. Other contenders are the "Dream-Changing Kannon" (Yume-chigae Kannon), the willowy Kudara Kannon and the exquisite Kuze Kannon. This last is only on display briefly in the spring and autumn.
  
  
• Tosho-gu, Nikko, Tochigi-ken
  This is another place I first visited in winter. All modern intrusions were masked by snow and the shrine's ornate gilding positively glowed against the dark foliage of the cedar trees. The shrine buildings are superb, but what I like best is the walk along the river, past a string of little Jizo statues, to Gamman-ga-fuchi pond.
  
  
• Chuson-ji, Hiraizumi, Iwate-ken
  In the 12C the Fujiwara clan built a magnificent complex of temples and palaces at Hiraizumi. Little survives today, with the one glorious exception of Chuson-ji temple's Golden Hall (Konjiki-do). It's tiny - just 5.5 metres square - but quite exquisite.
  
  
• Yamadera, Yamagata-ken
  1100 stone steps wind up a steep, mossy hillside to the highest buildings of Yamadera, a Zen temple founded in 860 AD. At the top you can get the pulse-rate back to normal while admiring the views.
  
  
• Ise-jingu, Mie-ken
  The Grand Shrine of Ise is Japan's most sacred spot. Though hard for non-Japanese to appreciate fully, it's still worth visiting, as much for the pure, Shinto architecture and spacious grounds as anything else.
  
  
• Izumo Taisha, Shimane-ken
  Japan's second most important shrine is Izumo Taisha. It's much larger, more open and slightly more relaxed than Ise-jingu. The tree branches are laden with white prayer-papers tied on for good luck, and there's a fantastic monster of a shimenawa (sacred rope) hanging outside the main hall.
  
  
• Zeniarai Benten, Kamakura, Kanagawa-ken
  I almost walked straight by the entrance to this shrine in northeast Kamakura; it's just a tunnel through the side of a sunken lane. On the other side there's a lovely natural amphitheatre filled with a forest of torii and the rich perfume of burning incense. It's said that if you wash your money in the spring here it will double in value - trouble is, they don't say when!
  
  
• Dainichibo & Churen-ji, Oami, Yamagata-ken
  These two temples on the flanks of Dewa-sanzan are homes to a couple of "living buddhas". These are the naturally mummified bodies of ascetic monks who slowly starved themselves to death on a diet of nuts, seeds and water. Apparently, this route to enlightenment was not uncommon before the mid-nineteenth century. For a small fee you can visit the monks; each tiny figure sits slumped on an altar. A bit macabre, I admit, but fascinating nonetheless.