Tokyo / Asakusa / Temple

Sensoji Temple

浅草寺 せんそうじ

Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in 628 — a gate, a lane, a five-storey pagoda and a hall that is never closed.

EssentialHistory · Early morning · Late night · Free · Photogenic

Two fishermen pulled a statue of Kannon out of the Sumida in 628 and the temple grew up around it; the statue has never been shown. The great red Kaminarimon gate with its four-metre lantern, the Nakamise lane of ninety shops, the Hozomon gate with its giant straw sandals, the pagoda and the main hall were all rebuilt after 1945, but the plan is the one pilgrims have walked for a thousand years. By day it is the most crowded place in Tokyo; the grounds never close, and at seven in the morning or after ten at night the hall is lit, the lane is shuttered and painted, and you have the place to yourself.

Don't miss

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A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Come at seven, before breakfast, then eat in the streets west of the temple when they open at nine.
Best time
Before 8 am or after 9 pm; the pagoda is lit until 11.
Allow
60 min
Station
Asakusa (Ginza / Asakusa lines, Tobu), exit 1
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.senso-ji.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Asakusa

Street Essential

Kappabashi kitchen streetかっぱ橋道具街

Eight hundred metres of restaurant supply — knives, lacquer, ceramics, and the plastic food in every window in Japan.

90 min · Tawaramachi (Ginza line), 5 minutes; or walk 10 minutes west from Sensoji
On the water Worth it

Sumida river water bus隅田川の水上バス

Down the river from Asakusa under twelve bridges to the shogun's garden or the bay.

45 min · Asakusa (Ginza / Asakusa lines), exit 4 to the pier
District Worth it

The craft and coffee streets west of the temple寺の西側の職人通りと喫茶店

Hoppy Street, Denboin-dori, the old coffee houses and the shops that make one thing by hand.

90 min · Asakusa (Ginza line) or Tawaramachi (Ginza line)

All places — Asakusa →