Like all Shinto shrines, Kasuga Taisha looks after the nature around it. Hunting and the felling of trees have been banned since the 8C and hundred-year-old cedars stand tall in the sacred forest surrounding the shrine. A thousand stone lanterns mark the way along the path leading to the shrine. Inside the fine tiled temple with its vermilion pillars, more lanterns, bronze this time, continue where the others left off: a total of 3 000 to represent the number of offerings made by believers. The lanterns are lit at festivals held twice a year (early February and mid-August).