Japan Guide
Central Honshū
Zenkō-ji
Believed to house the first image of Buddha to arrive in Japan, Zenkō-ji is an extraordinary 1300-year-old temple. Its popularity with pilgrims is because it has traditionally welcomed believers of all Buddhist sects, has never barred women and is run alternately by an abbot of the Tendai sect and abbess of the Jōdo sect. Visitors can join the hundreds of daily petitioners searching for the "key to paradise" which lies beneath Zenkō-ji's main temple building; find it and you'll have earned eternal salvation.
The awesome worshipper's hall is a vast space with golden ornaments dangling from the high ceiling, where pilgrims used to bed down on futons for the night. People traditionally come for the morning service, which starts around 5.30am; it's worth making the effort to attend this to witness Zenkō-ji at its most mystical, with the priests wailing, drums pounding and hundreds of pilgrims joined in fervent prayer. Afterwards, the Ojuzu Chōdai ceremony takes place in the courtyard in front of the Hondō. Pilgrims kneel while the high priest or priestess rustles by in their colourful robes, shaded by a giant red paper umbrella; as they pass, they bless the pilgrims by tapping them on the head with prayer beads.
If you're at all uncomfortable in the dark, don't enter the Okaidan, a pitch-black passage that runs beneath the Hondō's innermost sanctum. This is the resting place of the revered Ikkō Sanzon Amida Nyorai, and pilgrims come down here to grope around in the dark tunnel for the metaphorical "key to paradise" – the closest they will ever get to this sacred object. Buy a ticket (¥500) from one of the machines to the right of Binzuru's statue, and follow the chattering crowds plunging into the darkness. Once you're in, keep your right hand on the wall and chances are you'll find the key (it actually feels more like a door knob) towards the end of the passage.