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Sensoji Temple

Asuka Period Ancient Temple

Senso-ji Temple is the oldest temple in Tokyo and is dedicated to the Asakusa Kannon. The giant red lantern at the Thunder Gate is the symbol of the temple, and the 250-meter-long Nakamise Shopping Street is packed with nearly 100 shops selling a variety of Japanese food and souvenirs.

Senso-ji Temple was founded in 628 and is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Located in the old part of downtown, Senso-ji Temple attracts visitors from all over the world, thanks to its rich religious culture.

The Kaminarimon Gate, the first gate of Senso-ji Temple, is also known as the “Thunder Gate” because of the statues of the god of wind and thunder on the left and right sides of the gate. A giant red lantern hangs inside the Thunder Gate, and almost every visitor to Senso-ji Temple has their picture taken with it, so there are many people inside and outside the gate from morning to night.

As you enter the Thunder Gate, you are greeted by a 250-meter-long approach road called the Nakamise Dori, also known as the Nakamise Shopping Street. In the beginning, the temple’s helpers were authorized to sell their goods on both sides of the street, and a shopping street was gradually formed. Today, hundreds of years later, there are nearly a hundred shops on both sides of the Nakamise Dori street where you can buy a variety of Japanese snacks and specialty souvenirs.

Crowded Nakamichi Dori

At the end of the path is the inner gate of Senso-ji Temple – Hozomon (Treasure-House Gate宝蔵門). The Treasure-House Gate was originally named Nioh Gate 仁王門, with statues of Nioh, Guardian deities of the Buddha on the left and right sides of the gate, and was destroyed by fire in 1945. The main gate was rebuilt in 1964, the second floor was used to store sutras and treasures within the temple, so the name was changed to the current one.

The Nioh statues inside the treasure gate

There is a nearly 50-meter-high Five-story Pagoda in Senso-ji Temple, which is the second tallest pagoda in Japan after the Kyoto Toji Five-story pagoda. The present pagoda was restored in 1973 and contains Buddhist relics imported from Sri Lanka.

Manywhere Trivia:
Japan’s shrines and temples often increase the percentage of “lucky sticks” in their lotteries to cheer up tourists, but Senso-ji Temple is adamant about not doing that, so Senso-ji’s lucky sticks are much more rare and valuable.

Main Hall of Senso-ji Temple is the hall where the Asakusa Kannon is enshrined. The Asakusa Kannon has been handed down from 628 A.D. and is said to be the center of worship at Senso-ji Temple, where it is believed that the Kannon can drive away illnesses and disasters and pray for good health. Every day, many people come to worship at Senso-ji Temple, and it is customary to take incense out from the incense burner in front of the main hall and beat it on the top of the head or around the affected area to ask for the Kannon bodhisattva’s blessing.