Festive Tokyo Temple

The atmosphere at Tokyo’s Sensoji Temple was more like a carnival than a somber religious affair. The grounds were crawling with visitors. Many women rented kimonos to wear, and could be seen posing for photos, and snapping pics of their own in key spots.

I even saw dogs in fancy costumes. (Dogs in strollers seems to be a “thing” in Japan.)

A huge woven sandal adorns one temple gate. Visitors take turns touching it to ensure the ability to walk with vigor for the rest of their days.

As we approached the main building, we paused by a large, smoky cauldron. Wafting its fumes over your head allegedly strengthens your brain. (Can’t say I notice a difference… yet!)

Our guide, a cheery woman named Joy, instructed us to toss a small coin into a box as we entered the temple. After that, she had us clasp our hands, make a wish, then take a small bow before stepping inside.

As Joy started to tell us about the Buddhist angels painted on the ceiling, we heard several loud drum beats. After it stopped, we watched a pair of Buddhist monks behind a screened area that’s locked to keep the public out.

Joy said if you have a big problem you can make an appointment for the monks to pray for you in the locked area, so that’s what might have been going on.

My favorite part of our temple visit was drawing Omikuji. For 100 yen (roughly 66 cents) you shake a numbered stick out of a metal container to get a fortune.

The numbers were written in Japanese rather than Arabic numerals, so Joy translated. After drawing 36, I looked for a drawer labeled 36 and pulled out a piece of paper with my fortune on it. (You can see it in my photos.)

The fortunes are labeled “good,” “bad,” and all sorts of shades in between. If you pull a bad fortune, you tie it to a row of wires and try again. That way, you can leave your bad fortune behind.

If you wanted peace and quiet, there were little nooks with statues dotting the temple grounds. I love historic trees, so I was especially impressed by the 1000 year old ginkgo. Joy told us that Japanese eat dried ginkgo nuts as snacks. I hope to try to some.Read more