Tamukeyama Hachimangu
手向山八幡宮
Right beside Todai-ji, yet almost no crowds
- Tickets
- Free
- Address
- 434 Zoshi-cho, Nara
A small shrine a short climb from Nigatsudo, dedicated to the Hachiman deity enshrined to guard Todai-ji. The crowds in front of the Great Buddha Hall rarely come up here, so you mostly hear deer hooves and birds. In autumn the ginkgo by the north gate and the maples overlap the shrine roofs, and a stone marks the spot where Sugawara no Michizane is said to have composed a poem.