Kasuga Grand Shrine

Kasuga Taisha is a Shinto shrine famous for its many bronze lanterns and stone lanterns that line its approaches. The shrine is dedicated to the deity responsible for the protection of the city and is the tutelary shrine of the Fujiwara family. The shrine's main sanctuary contains multiple shrine buildings that display the distinctive Kasuga style of shrine architecture. Visitors can explore the shrine's grounds, which include a botanical garden with 250 kinds of plants described in Japan's oldest collection of poems, and a museum that displays some of the shrine's relics. The shrine is also home to over 3,000 lanterns, which are lit twice a year during the Lantern Festivals. The surrounding Kasugayama Primeval Forest is a sacred old-growth forest and a UNESCO World Heritage Site