Sensoji Temple

My husband and I love to explore.  We always tell our son we are going on an adventure.  And then, we have them!  Today's mission was to visit Tokyo's oldest Buddhist temple.  It is both a religious place and a huge tourist attraction.  Even though we aren't really tourists, it is a must see.  And since we are new here, we must go and see. 

Before I go on too much, I should mentions that shrines are Shinto places of worship and temples are Buddhist places of worship.  To put it in the simplest terms - you go to the Shinto shrine when things are good, and you go to the Buddhist temple when things are not so good.  Weddings - Shinto.  Funerals - Buddhism.  Torii - Shinto.  Huge entrance with two gods - Buddhism.  No statues of human forms - Shinto.  Statue of a Buddha - Buddhism. 

Back to the adventure.  We left early this morning to take the train to the temple.  It is a pretty crowded place because it attracts so many tourists.  One neat thing we immediately noticed was the vast number of people in kimono.  Turns out there are places to rent kimono for the day.  Those people were having fun and we got to enjoy the atmosphere.

Part of why the temple is such a draw is the huge lanterns at the gate.  While there, I commented to my husband "imagine being the guy in the meeting that says 'let's put some really big lanterns in the gate' and it became a huge attraction for hundreds and hundreds of people!"  It was an interesting thing to contemplate.  There is more than one gate, and both have huge lanterns.

After enjoying the large lantern at the gate, we wandered down the arcade of shops.  They were selling all sorts of souvenirs and snacks.  It was fun looking at all the various trinkets and souvenirs.  Although it might seem strange to have a shopping area in a place of religious significance or worship, it is actually quite common here.  Historically, shrines and temples are places where people come together.  Since people are already congregating there, it is a good place to have a shop (foot traffic equals customers).  This philosophy has always been the rule here.  There used to be lots of restaurants, kimono shops, and produce sold in these shops.  In present day, the more touristy the shrine or temple is, the bigger the souvenir selection is in the shops surrounding the shrine or temple.  No matter what type of shops are around the shrine or temple, they were originally there to help create the city and now they support the community and provides goods to visitors.

As we neared the main building of the temple, I purchased a bundle of incense.  We lit it and put it into the big bowl before we took our hands and waved the smoked onto ourselves.  It is said to have therapeutic and purifying properties. 

Once we were done dousing ourselves in incense smoke, we wandered up to the temple and said our prayers.  The place was abuzz with people.  It was really interesting to see the architecture and history.  The temple just finished being restored in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.  Everything was so shiny and beautiful.  Such a good way to spend the day.