Temples signify a place of worship in Japanese Buddhism. Their basic purpose is the storing and displaying of sacred Buddhist effects, and some are still functioning monasteries. There are a few different styles of structures:

The Main hall, hosts sacred objects of worship, and are usually called kondo, butsuden, amidado, hatto, or hondo.

The Lecture halls are for meetings and also to display objects of worship, calling them kodo.
A Pagoda usually comes with 3 or 5 stories and are used to store remains of the Buddha, usually in the form of a representation.

There is usually one Main Gate that marks the entrance to the entrance or temple grounds. There may also be several additional gates.

Most temples house some form of Buddhist cemetery when Japanese can visit their ancestors’ graves.

To experience the Temple of Benten and Toshogu Shrine first hand, take the Tourcaster audio tour of Ueno Park in Toyko, Japan.