Peony Gardens in Hase-dera, Nara

Outdoor Roofed Passageways -3 Nobori-ro Corridors

Tomoko Kamishima May 29, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Priests walk up and down the 399 steps everyday</p>

<p>Fresh green surrounding the long roofed corridors</p>

<p>Roofed stairs have 399 steps in total</p>

<p>Wide-open terrace of the main hall</p>

<p>The space alongside the stone steps is ablaze with 7000 peonies.</p>

<p>Please purify your hands and mouth here</p>

<p>Splendid view from the terrace of the main hall</p>

<p>500 kinds of 7000 peonies of white, pink, magenta, and red flowers</p>

<p>Traditional shops standing side by side on the way to Hase-dera Temple</p>

<p>Bamboo shoots at a storefront in early May</p>

Hase-dera Temple in early May is filled with peony flowers. Fields alongside the covered stone steps toward the main hall are ablaze with 500 varieties totaling 7000 peonies of white, pink, magenta, and red flowers. It is just gorgeous when all the flowers begin to blossom all at once! I enjoyed each of the 399 steps of the Nobori-ro Corridors that invite us up into the holy precincts. Finally I reached the main hall on the hilltop. There was an open terrace commanding a great mountain view. Overlooking distant mountain ridges, I took a deep breath. And another. And another.

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Yamato

Tomoko Kamishima @tomoko.kamishima

Japan is a small island nation, but we have a huge number of surprising things to discover here. Many of these delights can be found when you step off the main street onto small side paths. I really enjoy studying about and researching various aspects of traditional Japanese culture, and then sha...