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The rambling temple complex of Naritasan Shinsho-ji is the main attraction at the pilgrim town of NARITA , some 60km northeast of Tokyo, and a fine place to stop off on your way to or from Narita Airport. Every year, millions of people visit this thousand-year-old temple, which is an important landmark in the Shingon sect of Buddhism, but it's such a vast place that, as long as you're not here on one of the main festival days (New Year and Setsubun on February 3 or 4), you won't notice the crowds. To find Naritasan Shinsho-ji , follow the central shopping street, Omotesando, which is to the left from the plaza in front of the station. Head north for ten minutes, turning downhill when it forks beside a small triangular paved island and you'll reach the souvenir stalls lining the approach to the temple's ornate Nio-mon gate. Many of the buildings inside the complex are modern reproductions, but in front of the Great Main Hall is a colourful, three-storey pagoda, dating from the eighteenth century and decorated with fiersome gilded dragon heads snarling from under brightly painted rafters. Behind the main hall, the temple's gardens include small forests and ornamental ponds and rivers. While you're in this area, it's worth checking out the National Museum of Japanese History (Tues-Sun 9.30am-4.30pm; Y400), in Sakura , a town four stops before Narita on the Keisei line. Set in wooded grounds a ten-minute walk east from Keisei Sakura Station, this huge museum houses a great collection of Japanese arts and crafts, including 10,000 BC Jomon pottery figurines (which look as though they could be sculptures by Picasso), detailed models of temples, towns and settlements through the ages, and an extensive range of colourful cultural artefacts. An English pamphlet and taped commentary will help guide you around.
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