Kasuga Taisha Shrine

Kasuga Taisha, founded in 768 CE, is Nara's most celebrated Shinto shrine and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its approach through the primeval Kasugayama Forest — a sacred grove untouched for over a millennium — is lined with nearly 3,000 stone and bronze lanterns donated by worshippers over the centuries. During the Mantoro lantern festivals (February 3 and August 14-15), all lanterns are lit simultaneously, creating a corridor of flickering light.

The shrine's main buildings are painted in striking vermilion, a vivid contrast to the deep green of the surrounding forest. Wisteria vines drape over the grounds in late April and early May, adding cascades of purple and white. The Kasuga tradition of rebuilding the shrine every 20 years (similar to Ise Jingu) maintained for centuries ensures the structures remain perpetually fresh.