Enryaku-ji Temple

Perched high on Mt. Hiei, straddling the border of Kyoto and Shiga, Enryaku-ji Temple has been a spiritually and culturally important site for more than 1,200 years. Founded in 788 by the monk Saicho, it became the head temple of the Tendai sect and trained many of the founders of later Japanese Buddhist traditions, earning it the nickname the “Mother Mountain of Japanese Buddhism.”
At its peak, the temple had 3,000 subtemples. However, in 1571 (during the Warring States period), the entire mountain was burned down by Oda Nobunaga (a warlord who aimed to unify Japan). It was later restored under Toyotomi Hideyoshi (the warlord who succeeded Nobunaga and unified Japan) and Tokugawa Ieyasu. Today, the site encompasses more than 100 halls and buildings, housing over 50 Important Cultural Properties, including both buildings and crafts. In 1994, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.　
When you visit, you can experience the temple’s traditions firsthand through zazen meditation, or even an overnight stay at temple lodgings. The mountain setting is also incredibly beautiful: to the east, Lake Biwa – the largest in Japan – stretches out like a mirror, while to the west lies a sweeping view of Kyoto.