Sensō-ji Temple at Asakusa, Tokyo

You know, Japan has a lot of cities such as Yokohama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Matsumoto, Kumamoto, etc.; among those, Tokyo is the biggest and the most lively one. Besides some big malls in Tokyo, there are a lot of interesting places that you can visit when coming here. One of them is Sensō-ji, a temple with special features and the Asian style of the “Land of the rising sun”.

From the main gate, you can see a lot of shops along the way to the main temple such as candy, clothes, and many other Japanese souvenir shops.

The first time, you may be confused about where to start and how to do it. Luckily there is a Japanese couple who has helped and instructed me. Firstly, you will go to a small shrine which has a sculpture and a fountain. In Japanese tradition, before getting into a sacred place, you have to refresh your body. So the fountain here is used to clean your body and mouth.

Next, you will see a big vase with many incense sticks. Here you will use your hands to get the incense to your body parts where you want to be better. I have got the incense to my head so I can be smarter LOL.

Now we are going inside the main temple.

So this is the main hall where everybody comes to pray. And these are the steps to do: First, you throw a coin to ..(??).. (I don’t know) .. (maybe) .. a kind of box. Then you hold hands together and wish. Then you hold hands together again and kowtow.

This is where we throw coins in.

After that, you can take a wishing paper to see what it tells you.

It would be great if you took a paper that tells you well. But if it doesn’t, don’t worry, you can tie your paper to the piles nearby because it means you leave the bad, unlucky things at the temple.

Finally, you can choose to buy a charm for yourself or to gift friends, and family. There are different charms for study, love, career, etc.

And this is the view around the temple before I was leaving.

Hey, if you love Sensō-ji Temple and want to have a tour visiting more interesting places in Tokyo, why not check out the ‘7 days itinerary in Tokyo‘!

Thach Le
Japanese Contributor
Cooking and traveling lover. An international student in Japan currently spends his time wandering and exploring the “Land of the Rising Sun”.

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