Todai-ji and the Great Buddha Hall

Todai-ji is the great temple of Nara, and its Daibutsuden — the Great Buddha Hall — is one of the largest wooden buildings in the world, built to house a bronze Buddha some fifteen metres tall. The approach passes through the Nandaimon, a huge wooden gate with two fierce guardian figures, before the hall appears across its courtyard.

For portraits, the approach and the gate give scale, and the hall works best seen whole from a distance across the courtyard. Deer wander along the approach too, which brings the park into the frame.

It is one of Nara's busiest sights and a working temple: entry to the hall's precinct is paid, and the rules for professional photography are the temple's own — check before you go.