Basic Information
Address:滋賀県大津市坂本本町4220Phone:077-578-0001Hours:8:30〜16:30 冬季は短縮Fee:共通券550円、国宝殿拝観料450円Access:京都バス51系統、京阪バス7系統で「延暦寺バスセンタ－」下車。比叡山シャトルバスが、山内の（延暦寺の）東塔、西塔、横川などの間を走っている。Website:Official Website Description
A great temple on Mount Hiei's Shimei-ga-take peak, straddling the border of Kyoto and Shiga. It's the head temple of the Tendai sect. In 785 (Enryaku 4), the monk Saicho (Dengyo Daishi) built a small hermitage here — that was the beginning. (Some say it was 788.)
The vast mountain grounds are divided into three areas — To-do, Sai-to, and Yokawa — with temple halls scattered throughout. Honen, Shinran, Eisai, Dogen, Nichiren — all the monks who would go on to found their own sects studied here in their youth.
The central area of Enryaku-ji. The Konpon Chu-do (Main Hall) here was originally the Ichijo Shikan-in that Saicho built as the very beginning of Enryaku-ji. It enshrines a statue of Yakushi Nyorai (Medicine Buddha).
The Shaka-do here was relocated from Mii-dera temple in Otsu.
Temple halls stand quietly scattered among serene cedar groves. Highlights include the vermillion Yokawa Chu-do built in the kakezukuri (cantilevered) style, the pyramidal-roofed Eshin-do, and the Shiki Kodo (Four Seasons Lecture Hall).
