Sensō-ji Temple（浅草寺）: Recreation + Religion

In front of the main gate, Kaiminarimon（雷門）
with a big chōchin （提灯）or lantern.

A map of my Day 1 walking tour.
Source

The impressive handiwork
under Kaiminarimon's lantern.

Traveling is like a drug to me. I seemingly have unlimited energy when I'm on a trip because I want to see everything. Although it's not possible to see all the main sites in Tokyo during one short trip, I packed my days as much as I could, yet I ended up crashing on the fifth day, and aside from going to Tsukiji Fish Market, I did nothing but walk around the neighborhood where I stayed, buy a pair of cute socks at the grocery store, and sleep! However, my first full day in Tokyo heavily contrasted my fifth; I went to the Tokyo Skytree area, Asakusa, Kappbashi, Ueno, and Tokyo Station Character Street! Furthermore, I footed it from Tokyo Skytree to Okamachi Station（岡町駅）and took in all the alleys and neighborhoods in between, then hopped on the train to Tokyo Station. That day, I walked for around eight hours. Maybe I'm a little crazy, but I love walking, what can say?

Sensō-ji Temple's famous
five-story pagoda（五重塔; gojūnotō）

Many of the areas I passed through on my first day in Tokyo deserve their own posts; this one focuses on Sensō-ji Temple（浅草寺）in Asakusa（浅草）.

Along with Meiji Shrine（明治神宮）, I think Sensō-ji Temple—also known as Kinryū-zan Sensō-ji （金龍浅草寺）—is one of the most famous temples in Tokyo. While both shrines are well-known, they are associated with different religions, Shintoism and Buddhism, respectively. Additionally, Sensō-ji Temple is the older of the two. By how much? Well, Sensō-ji Temple was originally founded in 645, and Meiji Shrine was constructed in 1920—you do the math!

Sensō-ji Temple is dedicated to Avalokiteśvara; two brothers supposedly saw a statue of the bodhisattva in the Sumida River near the location of the current shrine. The temple was bombed during World War II and subsequently rebuilt, thus the shrine also symbolizes rebirth.

The Avenue of Buddhist Teachings （伝法院通り; Denbōin-dōri）
is the pedestrian street which leads directly to the temple.

A crowd heading towards Denbōin-dōri.

Denbōin-dōri is flanked by several stalls which
sell various treats and souvenirs. 

Shopping and snack stalls are usually found around temples. Naturally, selling goods outside of a temple is intelligent from a commercial standpoint, but I also feel it underlines a temple's promotion of community. Leisure time and spirituality are two aspects of life which create balance in a person and a society as a whole. I believe this is why temples are often paired with recreation. 

In the case of Japan, I think this practice perfectly reflects inshin-denshin (以心伝心) or the special empathy between Japanese people. Relaxing and worshipping in the same location—and in similar ways—fosters a silent connection between the people even if they are strangers. In Tokyo, I "felt" inshin-denshin between the people around me all the time—the way they ate, executed manners, their body language. Among the Japanese, it must feel like a comfortable sense of belonging, but as a foreigner it reminded me that I didn't quite fit in! But yet again, I digress.

Sensō-ji Temple's recreation area is comprised of a few pedestrian shopping streets, yet the main one is, by my translation, called The Avenue of Buddhist Teachings （伝法院通り; Denbōin-dōri）. On Denbōin-dōri, one can find a wide assortment of typical souvenirs and Japanese snacks. Several schoolgirls on a field trip made a beeline to a stall that sold "doll cakes"（人形焼き; ningyo-yaki）. I heard them chatter excitedly about being excited to come to Tokyo just to buy those cakes, so I jumped in line with them and purchased some as well. Two packs were just under $5, and with eight small cakes in each, I thought it was a good deal. I don't know exactly why they're called doll cakes, but my guess is because they are shaped like symbolic figures and items found in real life, like dolls. Unsurprisingly, the Sensō-ji Temple doll cakes represent figures associated with the shrine.

I am not sure what flavor the cakes in the
white package were, but they had a
basic poundcake taste.

The cakes in the red package were
brown sugar flavor I think.

The cakes are slightly too sweet for my tastes, though they are likely perfect or not too sweet if you like Western-style cakes. The sweetness mainly comes from the anko（餡子） or sweet red bean paste in the center of the cakes. I find they go great with green tea.

Hōzōmon（宝蔵門）, an accompaniment to the main hall.

Typically, East Asian temples are situated on a large compound and with gardens, statues, and smaller shrines, which are collectively seen as the temple. Sensō-ji Temple follows this design and covers a large portion of Asakusa. Hōzōmon is the largest offshoot of the main hall, and like Kaiminarimon, it contains a large lantern. 

Hōzōmon's lantern.

The temple's main hall or hondō（本堂）

Of course, the main hall is one of the most impressive portions of the temple. As with all Japanese temples, visitors wash their hands in the front before entering. After praying, worshippers exit to the side of the main hall.

Another common finding around a temple are amulets and fortunes. Some visitors enjoy buying good luck charms for protection, safe births, luck in love, positive exam results, and successful job interviews among many other things. I didn't buy one because I couldn't decide which one I wanted, but I regret that! Oh well, there's always next time, right?

Next to the main hall, there is a shop where you can
purchase various amulets and mikuji（みくじ） or fortunes.

Some of the selections.

Koi in the garden.
Don't the grey ones look transparent?

To the west of Sensō-ji Temple's main hall, the is a large garden with statues and minor halls associated with the shrine. Characteristic of Japanese gardens, a Koi fish pond is located there.

I genuinely enjoyed the beauty of Sensō-ji Temple as well as the atmosphere around it. I'd say my visit there was my favorite temple experience. It's free to enter and easily accessible, so I'd put it high on my "must-see in Tokyo" list.