Todai-ji Temple

Todai-ji houses the world's largest bronze Buddha — the Daibutsu — a 15-metre-tall, 500-ton statue that has watched over Nara since 752 CE. The Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) that shelters it is the world's largest wooden building, despite being only two-thirds the size of the original 8th-century structure destroyed by fire.

Inside the dim, incense-scented hall, the sheer scale of the seated Buddha takes your breath away. A pillar near the back has a hole at its base the same diameter as the Buddha's nostril — squeezing through is said to guarantee enlightenment. Outside, deer graze peacefully on the approach path, completing a scene that has changed remarkably little in 1,300 years.