The Japanese word for temple is "o-tera". The -tera stands for temple and the "o" is to express honor towards the term. But in the names of Temples, the character for temple is mostly read as "-ji" or in the case of hase-dera as "-dera". Temples are always Buddhist temples; the buildings to practice worshipping Shinto (the Japanese indigenous religion) are called shrines (in Japanese: jinja).
Senso-ji:
Location: Asakusa, Tokyo. Use the train from anywhere in or near Tokyo.
Number of Tourists: Incredibly high. Just a little more than a crowded shopping street
Things to See: Giant lanterns. On the bottom of the lanterns are carved dragons, most people don't know of this and just pass without looking underneath. Shopping for souvenirs is also one of the interesting things you can do at Asakusa.
Suggestion: Because of the high number of tourists, there are lots of souvenir shops in the Asakusa district. People who have a flight from Tokyo back to their home country could visit Asakusa and Senso-ji to fill their baggage with Omiage (Japanese souvenirs).
Hase-dera:
Location: Hase temple is located in Kamakura, not too far by train from the city centre.
Number of Tourists: Moderate.
Things to See: the temple is a nice place to have a view all over the city Kamakura, also there are a lot of statues.
Suggestion: It is a nice temple to visit if you have not visited a lot of temples. I would call Hasedera the standard temple for tourists.
Kinkaku-ji:
Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from ryoan-ji)
Number of Tourists: High, especially in the afternoon and late morning.
Things to See: The building is covered in a layer of gold and gives you a fairy-tale view. The pond and garden are also nice to see.
Suggestion: Visit early in the morning and don't plan to stay too long. You can't go inside. Besides taking a few pictures, there is very little to do as it's a very crowded place and you can't go inside the building.
Ryoan-ji:
Location: Kyoto, not too far from the centre by bus, car or taxi (you can walk from kinkakuji, but it's uphill)
Number of Tourists: Moderate, but it's a small place and a lot of people stay long so you may get a more crowded feeling.
Things to See: The stone garden. The stone garden is unique and a lot of people sit down and meditate or contemplate there. The special thing about the stone garden is that wherever you stand, you will never be able to see all the stones in the garden. The temple also has a nice tree garden; you can take an alternative route through the garden on your way back.
Suggestion: If you like Zen Buddhism or combine the visit with the kinkaku-ji it's worth going.
Todai-ji:
Location: Nara, located in Nara Park, which is pretty central. You can take the train and walk through the park to the Temple complex.
Number of Tourists: Very high, but the place is extremely big, which makes up for it. You never really get the crowded feeling.
Things to See: The world's largest bronze Buddha. The temple is the world's biggest wooden structure. You can crawl through a hole the size of Buddha's nostril, which should grant you luck.
Suggestion: It's really worth visiting. You can also walk around the park (there are a lot of deer in the park, don't feed them. If you bow to the deer sometimes they will bow back, but not all animals are trained to do this.) Nara is worth a whole day of your time at least.
Muro-ji:
Location: Muro village, city, Nara prefecture. You can take a train from Osaka, Kyoto or Nara but it's not close.
Number of Tourists: About five to ten and maybe one or two classes of school children
Things to See: It has the worlds smallest five story pagoda and a range of interesting Buddha statues. You can also take the 400 steps up the mountain to see the view and the building highest on the mountain.
Suggestion: It's a nice temple located in Japan's nature. If you like hiking you can combine a hiking trip with the temple's visit.
