Sensoji Temple Asakusa – One of the highlights of our trip to Japan was a visit to Tokyo’s oldest and most famous of temples. The Sensoji is located in the north-eastern part of the city and was about a half hour train ride from where we were staying in Ikebukuro. Do not hesitate to visit.
Taking the scenic route to Sensoji Temple:
We had been contemplating taking the bus so we could see the streets as opposed to taking the metro all the time. A little research confirmed that it was possible to get to Asakusa via a forty-minute scenic ride on one of the tour boats, so that was exactly what we did. This is an awesome way to see different parts of Tokyo.
If you choose to take the underground, the stop for the Sensoji Temple is the Asakusa Station. It will be crowded of course as this is one of the top attractions in Tokyo, so patience is key. Just go with the flow.
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After our initial impressions of the city, we felt a bit more comfortable at making our way around town. We went to the closest station using the Yamanote metro line. From there, it was a further half mile walk to the Hinode Pier , a nice walk that takes you partially through the greenery of the Hama-Rikyu Gardens. Always nice to see open space amidst the big shiny buildings.
Once at the pier, we paid our fee, which was about $8 a person. We only had to wait a few minutes before the boat arrived. It was a very enjoyable trip that takes you under 12 bridges.You get to feel the expanse of the city, and we were lucky to have a very nice day.
The commentary is in English, even though it was hard to hear, so we missed the names of the various buildings and bridges that were pointed out. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the ride, which drops you off close to the Asahi beer building with its weird gold plop 🙂 . I think it’s supposed to be beer foam 😉 . A short walk brings you to the Sensoji Temple.
Sensoji Temple Asakusa:
Asakusa Temple: a little history
The Sensoji Temple Asakusa is also known as the Asakusa Kannon Temple. It is a Buddhist temple that was built in 645 A.D. Legend has it that two brothers had unwittingly fished out a statue of Kannon, who is the goddess of mercy from the Sumida river.
All attempts to return it failed as the statue always found its way back to them. They therefore decided to build a temple for the goddess. Construction began in 628 and finished in 645. Although Asakusa boasts lots of temples, this one became the most famous of all.
Thunder gate at Sensoji Temple:
The Kaminarimon (Thunder gate) is the outer gate from which most enter. It is also the symbol of Asakusa. The god of thunder and the god of wind guard the entrance. Beyond the outer gate, there is a really long street called Nakamise Dori.
Sensoji Tokyo: Atmosphere
This street is filled on both sides with vendors selling all sorts of tourist souvenirs like tee-shirts (we bought a couple) , postcards, kimonos and lots of sweet stuff like green tea ice cream and puff pastries.
The aroma was quite intoxicating, caramel mixed with nuts, sweet honey and mint smells. I recommend buying all that stuff here. Other sections of the city do not really have touristy items as such, so fair warning.
Hozoman Gate at Asakusa Shrine:
Past the Thunder Gate and the vendors, you come to the inner gate called the Hozomon. This section has more stores, some selling traditional clothing called Yukata. There were also lots of beautiful, hand-made fans. It wasn’t as full of tchotchkes like the outer part. There were also a few food places that sold local snacks.
Kannon-do Hall at Asakusa Temple:
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Continuing on from the Hozomon, you come to the actual Sensoji Temple, and Kannon-do Hall, with its five-story pagoda. There is a strong smell of incense in the air, thanks to the big cauldron just before the entrance.
We saw lots of Japanese people blowing smoke over their bodies. We later found out why. It’s supposed to bring good luck. Inside of the hall, there is an immense golden shrine to the goddess herself. There were a lot of worshipers praying feverishly.
It occurred to me, as it always does, looking at some of the faces how disrespectful we tourists tend to be. 🙁 . There were so many tourists jostling for space trying to capture the best image before moving on to the next touristy spot without giving a thought to the fact that this was a place of worship.
They were blissfully unaware of the fact that they were elbowing worshipers. I always feel the same way when visiting the cathedrals and l see people praying while everyone rushes about. We try to tread softly and wait till there is a shot, even if it means waiting several minutes (not always patiently 🙂 ).
It was only now, while editing the images, that l realized there was a small “no photography” sign. I think they gave up, as there were hundreds of people taking photographs.
Sensoji Garden at Asakusa Temple:
Coming out of the Kannon-do Hall, you see a gorgeous garden below you that just beckons to be explored further. Most people turned around and left, but we couldn’t help checking it out. Therefore we pretty much had the garden to ourselves, save for a few locals.
We observed that the people would say a prayer and put in some coins at every small shrine in the garden. It was cool that just a few yards away at the Sensoji Temple, there were thousands of people, yet in that garden, it felt so peaceful and quiet.
We ended our day with some Udon noodle soup and Gyoza, the Japanese dumplings. It was a perfect way to spend a few hours in lovely Asakusa area.
Despite the fact that this is the oldest temple in Tokyo, it is worth noting that quite a bit of was destroyed in WWII, so many parts are reconstructions. I definitely recommend the water ferry as a way to see Tokyo from a different vantage point.
Asakusa Temple Hours:
The Sensoji temple is open from 6:30am till 5pm
The Asakusa shrine is open all day and night (24hrs)
The Nakamise shopping street is open from 9am – 9pm (stores are individually owned and hours may vary)
Admission to Asakusa Temple (Sensoji Temple) is free.
Is Sensoji Temple worth visiting?
A loud and resounding yes. There is a reason why it is one of the best tourist spots of Tokyo. It really gives you a glimpse of another religion. As westerners, we are exposed mostly to the Christian religion. It’s nice to look outside your comfort zone and discover a rich and old religion that is one of peace. Definitely worth it, and l consider it a must visit in Tokyo.
SUITE AT THE GATE HOTEL ASAKUSA KAMINARION
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Do you enjoy learning about other religions? What do you think of the Sensoji Temple Asakusa? Does it look interesting to you? Would you care to visit or would you give it a pass ?
You guys always have the best pictures. But, no food pics?!?!? Did you eat anything good while you were there?
Thank you 🙂 . Haha! I will have food pictures next week. We ate a lot of Korean and Japanese bbq..seems to be a thing there 🙂
I love the garden that is part of the temple!
Yeah..it was a pretty cool ending to all the craziness 🙂 .
Beautiful Kemkem. Yes, the rush of tourists elbowing aside worshippers and no doubt knocking some in the head with their selfie sticks. I remember seeing fat tourists get on stone lions at Angkor Wat. Jeez people act like monkeys sometimes.
Anyway, gorgeous temple. Lots of people and I see a lot of foreign faces – is that representative of what you would see in Tokyo and Kyoto?
Frank (bbqboy)
Surprised the stone lions are still standing.. :-). I for one am glad that a lot of places ban selfie sticks. I’ve been a victim of one ;-( . It’s a really nice temple, we saw four total, one in Tokyo and 3 in Kyoto. Yeah..there are a ton of foreigners. Kyoto had more Japanese tourists, but Tokyo..quite a lot of foreign faces, especially like the more touristy areas of Shibuya and Tokyo station area. We stayed in a really cool typical Japanese house in a prefecture that was among the locals. I am going to write a post about it as it was fantastic and everyone was nice. The second one we stayed at was also nice and not a touristy area either, but the owner was kind of a bitch, so no recommendation for her 🙂 .
Sounds good, will take all your recommendations for our trip. I hope you karate-chopped that bitch Kemkem 🙂
I wish l could have 🙂
These gates are beautiful, but the last one is stunning! What a lovely trip you guys went on.
It was indeed a lovely trip. I had no expectations and l am glad it was aces. :-). The gates are indeed beautiful.
As I was reading this, I was wondering how many temples are in Tokyo and how many, as a tourist, I’d be willing to visit. It definitely looks visit worthy, but I wonder if after awhile, they all start looking the same – kinda like cathedrals in Europe and South America. The gardens look so serene and peaceful. I always try to wait for folks to finish praying and whatnot too, but sometimes I also like to capture pictures of people worshiping. I did that a lot in South America although it’s probably rude to do so. :-/
There are thousands..haha! I know, after a while..they will all tend to look the same. I decided on 3 temples, even though we ended up seeing 4 (the 4th was so close to our airbnb, like a 10 minute walk), it would have been a shame to miss it. Yeah, it’s always nice to wait for a shot, but like you, we enjoy the portraits of the worshipers. Very pure. I think if we went back, l would do a couple more, and focus more on the other traditions like tea ceremonies (very costly l think so maybe not 😉 ), and the gardens..maybe Mt. Fuji which we saw for a brief second.
Your photos are always so beautiful. Do you shoot with a DSLR when you are traveling?
Awwh..thank you! Yes we do shoot with DSLR . They weigh a lot, but the images are nice. However, the major difference is the lens, which weigh another ton 🙂 . I did pick myself up a little treat in Tokyo, a smaller Nikon d3300 and lens, still weighs, but not as much.
Yea. That is the downside. I never want to carry my dslr and I hate switching out the lenses. But you capture much better pictures that way.
Right you are. What we end up doing is both of us carrying a camera and different lens, so we can switch up or he carries the camera and l have the extra lens in my purse. I bought an 18-70mm lens in Tokyo. I hate switching and will only use that from now on 🙂 .
Was prices better there on the glass?
The new ones were just slightly cheaper, but there is this very famous store called Nikon House that sells used lenses in immaculate condition. We looked it up and made sure to find it. My lens was half price. Small store and has like 300+ lenses in the window.
Wow!! Nice! I shoot with a cannon ????
Yeah, it was great, but only Nikon. There was a store close by that had all brands that were used as well. We went in but left rather quickly because it was slim pickings with the Nikon lenses. There were 2 big department stores that we visited where they had just about every camera on display and so many lenses and you could try them all..all of them with no one bothering you. We spent a lot of time in them. He is in love with the Nikon d5 and the Cannon. They had this insane Pentax one too. It was fantastic 🙂
I loved looking at your photos. I felt like I was there with you. The garden is beautiful. It reminds me of the Morikami
Gotta check out the Morikami. I have never heard of it. Thank you so much for the compliment. It means a lot 🙂
Like everyone previously mentioned, your pictures are gorgeous! I especially love the bridge and the Sensoji Garden
You guys are making our heads swell, but don’t stop 🙂 ;-). The garden was really nice and peaceful. We loved it.
Again, it’s simply beautiful! I love it how Japan manages to keep their old attractions and buildings and blend them so nicely with the ultra-modern ones. In other places, it would look completely hideous, but in their case, they somehow manage to blend them and mix them together masterfully. What a beautiful city/country!
Oh, you cracked me up at “hideous”! I totally agree. Most places do not know how to do it right. Here, it just seemed to flow. I am still shocked as to how beautiful it actually is and completely different from what l pictured. I am so glad we decided to take advantage of the fare. What a great eye-opener. I can only hope we get to re-visit and discover other parts of this beautiful country.
The colors are amazing and it looks like you were successful in reaching your destinations despite the throngs of people. It seems like you could feel rather claustrophobic at times battling your way through the crowd but I can see why you’d want to visit the Asakusa Kannon Temple. It’s amazing to think of how old it is. However, I might choose the nearby garden for peace and contemplation – absolutely gorgeous! Anita
I kept thinking we were going to lose track of each other in the throng of people leading up to the temple. If you notice in the pictures, we kept ducking out of the main road and going off to the side stores which were less populated. I can only imagine what it must be like in the summer with even more people :-). The garden was really serene. I think the locals probably gave up on the temple and go to the garden for peace and quiet. It is a beautiful place with so much history. I kept thinking of samurai :-).
Ohh i want to visit so bad! I’ve never been to Japan, but every time I see a post like this, I remind myself that I have to add it to my travel bucket list. Gorgeous images! Can’t wait to hear about the food!
It is definitely worth adding it to the bucket list. It wasn’t on ours, but we’re glad we did it. The food will come next 🙂 and thanks for the compliment.
Every time I read your blog I’m always ready to pack up my ish, hop on a plane and just be out. The pictures of beautiful, they are bold and vibrant in color. It looks like everyone is enjoying the sites. That garden is trimmed to perfection, there isn’t a leaf out of place. Although it looks crazy packed in some areas, very nice.
What are you waiting for then? 😉 ..haha! Thanks for the kind words, we try to bring everyone along on the story with the pictures. I’m glad we’re achieving this. It really is a beautiful setting, the garden , so close to the chaos 🙂 .
That garden looks so serene and beautiful! Could see myself mediating there 🙂
It sure is a perfect place for it, meditating and just watching the world go by. We enjoyed it very much 🙂 .
I really do enjoy learning about other religions actually. So many people think that if you so much as learn about them you will convert or something. While I’m good in my faith, I do love seeing the artwork and learning about how other cultures practice their beliefs.
I enjoy learning about other religions as well. I find it fascinating, and like you said..knowing about it doesn’t mean your forsake yours. It might even strengthen it if you ask me 🙂 . It was really fascinating. So now Hinduism in India and now Buddhism in Japan 🙂 .
It’s soooo beautiful! I can’t wait to visit Japan! That garden looks amazing
I hope you get to visit soon. It really is beautiful. Sorry it took me this late in life to find that out 🙂 .
Great idea to go there by boat, what time did you visit? It looks incredible busy, would very early in the morning be less crowded? But in anycase I would love to visit it, so much history in a place like this. You take great pictures and I particularly loved the last one…fabulous.
Yeah. I’m glad we went by boat. It was in the afternoon about 3 so probably not the best time to go 🙂 . I bet it’s less crowded in the morning. Most stores open at 10, so l think before that, you would have the place to yourself. Thanks so much for the compliment 🙂 😉 .
Wow so beautiful and look at those vivid colours! They are not fans of full greys or browns obviously. I’m a tourist when I travel abroad too but my goodness I am very annoyed about the disrespect people can show; I mean how hard can it be to have consideration for others right? I remember once in Dubai in an open, busy marketplace and here was this woman in hot pants! Ughh!
Anyway, I’m curious about all the temples there, do the Japanese have any particular religion?
Yep! Sometimes l want to smack people on the head. I remember when we were at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul and this girl was having a fit because they wouldn’t let her in with her barely there outfit. I mean really, ignorance is no excuse 😉 . I went to the tourist office and asked for directions to the nearest shrine..she asked if l meant shrine or temple? I really had no idea of the difference..duh.. Most seem to be either Buddhists (Temples) or Shinto (Shrines) worshippers. I felt bad for not knowing there was a difference..Yep! They love the colors, especially reds, even though we did go to 2 that were dark brown/black in color.
I’m with you on religions. Learning about them tends to strengthen my own beliefs and gives them more of a kind, loving, well-rounded flavor. I guess if I were to pray at this temple, I’d probably be aware ahead of time of the distractions. Eh? I love the story about why it was built! In fact, I like the way you infuse the stories usually in with the photos and your thoughts in your posts. We once traveled by boat down The Mosel in Germany. Well, bring on the food next time!—Terri
The only thing is the temple is always open, so you really have to go early to get some alone time with Buddha :-). I really do love learning about things, better seeing it live than on paper, and my thoughts always run amok. Thanks for appreciating it. Hey..you should post the pictures of the Mosel 😉 . The food is coming 🙂 .
They’re ancient photos of the Mosel! Ancient! But I should dig them up and look at them again with the kids for fun!
So??? you know me and flashback memories 🙂 . Bring it on l say!!!
Love this! I remember visiting so many temples in Japan–I have to say, of all my travels my time there seemed most foreign to me, I felt like I experienced an entirely new culture that I didn’t come close to scraping the surface of knowing much about before the trip. Haha, I also recall being a vegetarian was very hard there!;-)
There are so many, many temples for sure. I know what you mean about it being foreign. A unique and very different vibe which was really cool. I hope we get to go back at some point, because like you, l felt we barely scratched the surface. A vegetarian? OMG, it must have been awful..so much beef we had 🙂 .
This is beautiful! Asia has a culture like no other…I love learning about different cultures and would love to visit some of these beautiful temples.
Amazing photography!
Thank you 🙂 .
Wow! Fantastic photographs KemKem! I enjoy learning about other religions. In fact, it seems that I love learning lol! The temple looks very interesting. Thank goodness that it wasn’t “too crowded!” Were there many people who wore face masks? Do you have any idea if it’s because of smoke, smells or generally, “disease?”
I know what you mean. One should never stop learning 🙂 . There were a lot of people that wore masks. It was almost like a fashion statement. My take on it is that it was more for disease in general, you know, not wanting to catch other peoples germs. I kept thinking it would be awesome to own a mask company..lots of money 🙂 .
Hi Kemkem, I’m in the process of planning a trip to Tokyo next Autumn with my son, his chosen destination after living in Hungary for 2 years – he wants a completely different experience. Your post has excited me about going there, before it was – okay, if that’s where you want to go. I’m not into mega crowds, but sometimes you just gotta suck it up. Definitely looks beautiful and well worth going.
Oh nice! You will really enjoy yourself. It will definitely be a completely different experience for him. I felt like you did before as well. No big desire to visit, but once there, I absolutely enjoyed myself and wish we could have stayed longer than the 12 days to explore beyond Tokyo and Kyoto.
Every so often, I still scan the deals to see if it’s doable.. :-). Yep..sometimes you gotta suck it up..haha! It’s worth it.
Hi Kem, nice tour to the temple. Not only do temples always seem to be red, but they also seem to be the same shade of red. I’ll have to google that. I love that you take your ‘real camera’ along on these trips. I am the same, and will check an extra piece of luggage if I have to just to have it with me. Japan isn’t high on my travel list, but my daughter will probably visit there next year. She will have a full SD card for me to edit when she returns, so I’ll enjoy it vicariously. Thanks for the tour.
I know..right? They all are pretty much red, and the same shade of red as you say. We did see a few grey ones as well. I’m not sure but maybe if they are buddhists, they are red.. If memory serves me right, the grey ones we say were shinto..so maybe it has to do with the denomination. It was kind of hard to tell them apart and only wrote about two, this one and the Kyoto one.
I have to say that Fede lugs his camera and some lenses every time. I have been really lax and no longer take my DSLR, just the phone. I’m sure l’ve lost any little skill l have. Haha! I end up doing the editing as well. I get to relive the memories. :-). Thanks for reading.