Higashi Honganji Temple

Higashi honganji temple is located only 5 – 10 minutes of walk from Kyoto station. And I’m pretty sure you can find this temple very easily because this temple is too huge to miss it!
This temples is free-​admission so you can just go inside and take a look. And somehow, this temple is not as famous as other temples in Kyoto, so there aren’t so many people and got a lot of space. Those reasons make this temple really chill and easy to see.
Lastly what I found most likable about this temple is that there is a well-​paves road leads to in front of the temple from the entrance. I was with my baby and stroller but was very easy to walk through this temple.

El templo está bien y quizás volvería cuando lo terminen de arreglar, pero viniendo de Nishi Honganji me resultó muy parecido y un poco aburrido quizás. Si no es porque estás de paso no iría, habiendo tantas cosas en Kyoto es un poco una pérdida de tiempo, pero si tu estadía es larga y estás muy cerca está bien.

One of the few Buddhist temple in Kyoto which free and it’s actually pretty impressive.
The ground is very spacious and the two interconnected temples are big and very spacious inside. Some areas inside does not allow any pictures to be taken but most areas are okay.
It’s just around 10 minutes walk from JR Kyoto station and good way to start your temple adventure here.

One of the few free-​admission Buddhist temples in a city where temples require money just to see statues, Higashi Honganji Temple (Eastern Original Vow Temple) is one of two Honganji Temples that are the head temples of two subsects of the Jodo Shinsen Buddhism, which once wielded notable political power. This is the eastern one and also the newer one when Shogun Tokugawa forced the sect to divide, so this Honganji Temple is slightly newer than its western counterpart but has more grandeur!
Although Higashi Honganji Temple lacked the more ornamented gate that its western counterpart has, its gate compensates with its size so grand that it is nearly the same size as one of the western temple’s main halls! Like Nishi Honganji Temple, the temple ground’s main attractions are the two large wooden buildings: the Amida Hall that houses the sect’s main Buddha and the Hall of Sacred Image that houses the previous masters’ relic. Both buildings are a historical marvel with an impressive wooden structures on the outside and a tatami-​covered floor within, and they are even slightly larger than the halls in the western temple.
However, as of May 2015, the grand gate and the Amida Hall are currently under massive restoration but the Hall of Sacred Image is still available to visit!
Especially since it’s free, why not check out this beautiful and impressive temple? I highly recommend taking a short walk tour to visit both Honganji Temples to see the differences and similarities.
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tl;dr version:
1) FREE admission!
2) Newer but more grand version of the western counterpart
3) Impressive wooden structure outside and inside

This temple is pretty underrated compared to the other more touristy temples, which is good because it’s very quiet and spacious.
Come in, take off your shoes, and find yourself some floor space inside the main hall. I particularly enjoyed the wooden interior decorations as they were extremely elaborate. Also loved the aroma of old, solid wood as opposed to incense at the other temples.

I found this by looking at a map and heading to a temple near the railway station as I was only in town for a couple of hours. As I walked closer I thought I must be heading in the wrong direction, or perhaps there was a factory built next to and looking over the temple complex. It turns out that many buildings on the property are undergoing extensive renovations and this has been handled by building another massive structure around and encompassing the traditional buildings. Even with a couple of the buildings undergoing a renovation, it is still worth a visit as the founder’s hall is open and available and quite beautiful and large, stated to be the largest wooden structure in the world at 76m x 58m x38m large.

Higashi Honganji temple is located in about 8 minutes’ walk from Kyoto station. Good accessibility. It is called «Ohigashi san» and loved among the local citizens. It has a wide ground and in front of the entrance there is a moat where carps are swimming.
When I was crossing under the gate, I found a guard man making a bow around the gate before going out of the temple. He also made a bow before entering the temple. I was surprised at his politeness. Some elderly prayers also made a bow around the gate.
The compounds are also spacious. Probably you are surprised at the number of pigeons. Some were heading to me vigorously and almost bumped into me. I guessed that they didn’t seem to be afraid of human.
A very large stone wash basin is placed in the compounds. I’ve never seen such a large basin in other temples or shrines. In addition the stone tap is in a shape of a dragon from whose mouth water is flowing. The basin is like a swimming pool!
Amitabha hall and Mikage hall are now under reconstruction. So I took off my shoes before the steps of the main hall and entered it. I sat down in a Seiza position and prayed for good luck. There are some chairs in the spacious hall. It was cool inside because the air conditioner was on.
A shopping place is annexed, where not only goods related to Buddhism but also confectioneries are provided. I bought a bottle of water of Higashi Honganji temple at the vending machine. Package of the confectionery is cute, but everything is a little pricy. So I bought only water.
When I went out the temple, I made a bow at the entrance. I was in serene mind. Whenever I come to a shrine or temple, I felt comfortable. At the left side of the compounds there is a large bell made of bronze, which was very outstanding!