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Hiraizumi: A World Heritage Journey Through the Pure Land

By DeepExperience
Free cancellation available
The previous price was £222 and current price is £155 per adult* *Get lower prices by selecting more than 2 adults
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Features
  • Free cancellation available
  • 3h
  • Mobile voucher
  • Instant confirmation
Overview

Explore the spiritual legacy of Hiraizumi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, through a guided walking tour that delves into the Buddhist Pure Land philosophy. Start at Motsu-ji Temple, where a serene pond garden embodies the vision of a harmonious realm governed by Amida Buddha. Continue to the ruins of Muryoko-in, imagining its grand architecture while reflecting on its historical significance. Finally, visit Chuson-ji Temple, the spiritual heart of Hiraizumi, where the stunning Konjikido symbolises the beauty of the Pure Land and the aspirations of the Fujiwara clan. This tour provides a profound insight into how faith influenced urban planning and culture in medieval Japan.

  • Guided walking tour through Hiraizumi's historic sites
  • Visit Motsu-ji, Muryoko-in ruins, and Chuson-ji Temple
  • Learn about the relationship between faith, architecture, and politics
  • Experience a unique perspective on Japanese history and Buddhism
Activity location
  • Motsu-ji Temple
    • 58 Hiraizumi Osawa,
    • 029-4102, Hiraizumi-cho, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Meeting/Redemption Point
  • NewDays
    • 76
    • 029-4102, Hiraizumi, Iwate, Japan

Check availability

Hiraizumi: A World Heritage Journey Through the Pure Land
  • Activity duration is 3 hours3h
    3h
  • English
Language options: English
Price details
£221.10
£154.77 x 1 Adult£154.77
Total
The previous price was £221.10 and current price is £154.77
30% off
Until Thu, 26 Feb

What's included, what's not

  • What's includedWhat's included
    Visit to the site of Muryoko-in
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Explanation of Pure Land philosophy and its influence on Hiraizumi
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Guided walking tour of Hiraizumi
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Visit to Motsu-ji Temple
  • What's includedWhat's included
    Visit to Chuson-ji Temple
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Transport to and from Hiraizumi
  • What's excludedWhat's excluded
    Meals and drinks

Know before you book

  • Public transport options are available nearby
  • Suitable for all physical fitness levels
  • In accordance with UK consumer law, activities services are not subject to the right of withdrawal. Supplier cancellation policy will apply.
  • This activity is provided by a professional trader (a party acting within their trade, business or profession).

Activity itinerary

Motsu-ji Temple
  • 1h 20m
  • Admission ticket included
Motsu-ji Temple represents one of the clearest visual expressions of Pure Land Buddhist thought in Japan. Centred around a spacious pond garden, the temple complex was designed to recreate the harmonious world of Amida Buddha’s Pure Land in the present life. The calm water, gentle curves, and carefully balanced layout convey a sense of order and tranquility, allowing visitors to experience a religious ideal through movement and sight. Motsu-ji also reveals how the Oshu Fujiwara clan integrated Buddhist belief into urban planning, shaping Hiraizumi as a city guided by spiritual principles rather than military power alone.
Site of Muryoko-in
  • 20m
Although no buildings remain today, the ruins of Muryoko-in are essential to understanding Hiraizumi’s Pure Land vision. This site once held a grand Amida Hall modelled on Kyoto’s Byodoin Phoenix Hall, facing a pond with Mount Kinkeisan rising behind it to the west. The carefully aligned layout embodied both the Western Pure Land belief and the Buddhist cosmological concept of Mount Sumeru. Standing here invites visitors to imagine a sacred world shaped by faith, where architecture, landscape, and belief came together to create a Pure Land that existed as much in human imagination as in physical form.
Chuson-ji Temple
  • 1h 20m
  • Admission ticket included
Chuson-ji Temple is the spiritual heart of Hiraizumi and the most powerful symbol of the Oshu Fujiwara clan’s Pure Land aspirations. Spread along a forested hillside, its layout reflects a journey from the everyday world towards enlightenment. The highlight is the Konjikido, or Golden Hall, a richly gilded structure that represents Amida Buddha’s paradise and serves as the mausoleum of three generations of the Fujiwara family. Both magnificent and solemn, Chuson-ji expresses a deep longing for peace after death while reminding visitors of the impermanence of worldly power and human ambition.

Location

Activity location
  • LOB_ACTIVITIESLOB_ACTIVITIES
    Motsu-ji Temple
    • 58 Hiraizumi Osawa,
    • 029-4102, Hiraizumi-cho, Iwate Prefecture, Japan
Meeting/Redemption Point
  • PEOPLEPEOPLE
    NewDays
    • 76
    • 029-4102, Hiraizumi, Iwate, Japan

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