Saidai-ji Temple

Saidai-ji Temple is a Buddhist temple in western Nara, a 3-minute walk from Kintetsu Yamato-Saidaiji Station. Its name means "Great Western Temple." It was founded in 765 by Empress Shotoku as the western counterpart to Todai-ji, the "Great Eastern Temple" built by her father, Emperor Shomu.

It was one of the Seven Great Temples of Nara. Today it is the head temple of the Shingon Risshu school of Buddhism and sees far fewer visitors than the temples around Nara Park. It is a different temple from Kinryozan Saidaiji in Okayama, home of the Eyo naked festival.

History of Saidai-ji

The temple began with a vow by the empress to cast gilt-bronze statues of the Four Heavenly Kings. At its height, the grounds covered about 48 hectares with more than 110 buildings, including two main halls and a pair of pagodas.

After the capital moved to Kyoto, the temple declined and lost most of its buildings to disasters. The monk Eison (1201–1290) moved here in 1235 and rebuilt it as a center for strict monastic discipline and charity work. Most halls burned again in a war in 1502, and the buildings you see now were rebuilt in the Edo period.

What to see at Saidai-ji Temple

One common ticket covers the three main halls:

• Main Hall (Hondo): the temple's central hall, rebuilt in the Edo period

• Aizen-do: home to a small, deep-red seated statue of Aizen Myoo carved in 1247, kept hidden except during two special openings each year

• Shio-do: the Hall of the Four Heavenly Kings, which carries on the temple's founding vow

The foundations of the original East Pagoda remain in the grounds. The Shuhokan treasure hall opens only during limited seasons and needs a separate ticket. The 2026 fall opening of the Aizen Myoo statue and the Shuhokan runs from October 25 to November 15.

Saidai-ji tickets and prices

The current three-hall ticket costs 800 yen for adults, 600 yen for junior high and high school students, and 400 yen for elementary school students. The Shuhokan is an extra 300 yen.

Prices rise on January 1, 2027, to 1,000 yen for adults, 800 yen for students and 500 yen for children. From 2027, the special viewing periods of April 15 to May 15 and October 15 to November 15 add 200 yen, and the Shuhokan goes up to 500 yen. Saidai-ji's admission and ticket page is in Japanese.

Ochamori: the giant tea bowl ceremony

Saidai-ji is best known for Ochamori, a tea ceremony in which guests drink matcha from giant shared bowls. It goes back to 1239, when Eison served the people tea left over from an offering, as an alternative to sake.

Public Ochamori ceremonies are held on January 16, on the second Sunday of April and the Saturday before it, and on the first Sunday of November. The fall 2026 ceremony on November 1 costs 4,000 yen, which rises to 5,000 yen from spring 2027. On other days it is offered only to booked groups.

How to get to Saidai-ji Temple

Take the Kintetsu Nara Line or Kyoto Line to Yamato-Saidaiji Station and walk 3 minutes from the south exit. The station is two stops west of Kintetsu Nara, which makes the temple an easy stop on the way in from Osaka or Kyoto.

The same station is the meeting point for the guided Heijo Palace walk, so the two pair well in one morning.

The Heijo Palace Site, the excavated grounds of the 8th-century imperial palace, lies just east of the station.