What are your favorite temples and shrines?
Don't just drop a name, tell us what's special the place and why you love it.
Bonus point if you share the google maps link.
This is part of a series of weekly threads with recommendations in and around Tokyo. Find the archives in the wiki or through the search.
by AutoModerator
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Shibamata Taishaku-ten in Shibamata, north-eastern Tokyo.
The temple itself is very nice and has some absolutely stunning woodcarvings, as well as a lovely little garden out the back with a teahouse, called Yamamoto-tei.
The walk from the station to Taishaku-ten is nice, too. There are plenty of old shops and restaurants in the streets leading up to the temple and the area has quite a nostalgic, Showa-era feel.
The nostalgia is made stronger by the fact that Shibamata was the home base for Tora-san, the bumbling main character in the film series “Otoko wa Tsurai yo” (It’s tough being a man), who featured in 48 films made between the 1960s and mid-1990s. The series was really evocative of Japanese family life in the postwar Showa period of the 1950s and 1960s.
There’s a statue of Tora-san next to Shibamata station and a museum dedicated to the films just around the corner from Taishaku-ten.
Google Maps link:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/9Tb4NQZ65afLegCZ8?g_st=ic
Hie Shrine in Akasaka
Takahata Fudō, a Shingon temple on the way to Mt. Takao through the Keiō Line. It has a nature spot on its grounds and they conduct goma/fire ceremonies multiple times a day. The Fudō Myō-ō statue in the “museum” part is very cool. Sometimes there’s a market on the grounds too.
I kind of like kind of “pilgrimage” where you have to visit a specific set of places. Did the [ten shrines of Tokyo](https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/the-ten-shrines-of-tokyo/49582) and [Tokyo Jinja good luck tour](https://en.japantravel.com/tokyo/tokyo-jinja-good-luck-tour/69676).
While I don’t think I would call it my favorite, I did enjoy one [Togoshi-hachiman-jinja](https://maps.app.goo.gl/31EUyGWbbRQTWCUa9) the shrine in itself had nothing that special. The path leading to it is kind of cute. I did to get my stamp and they had seasonal goshuin and one with cat so got it too and they offered me some tea, so grabbed it and went to sit on one of the sofa they have installed there. Was just a relax shrine, but the building in itself had nothing special. It’s for that reason that I like things like that, it make me go to shrines or temples I would probably not visit otherwise, also why I like stamp rally.
[Tsukiji Honganji](https://maps.app.goo.gl/FT6vSfgYAvo2AanB8?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy) is not just the most unique-looking temple in Tokyo, but also holds a big variety of events including outdoor yoga sessions, projection mapping, rap shows, live music, and more.
It’s been used in a lot of video shoots, including, most recent in my memory, [Wednesday Campanella – Kongo Rikishi Statues](https://youtu.be/pXvC7GkN9kY?si=HN8BZI8NUAINhjG5).
[Ono-Terusaki shrine in Taito](https://maps.app.goo.gl/CmkEk7nPsbfQRaZMA). Simply because every time you go there, it’s almost certain you will meet the resident shrine cats (and they’re pretty friendly to people, too)
My favourites include Nogizaka Jinja (Fushimi-Inari-style torii gate path and a gorgeous gingko tree), Tokyo Daijingu (A taste of Ise Shrine without the Shinkansen trip) and Akagi Shrine (in Kagurazaka, cool modern architecture). I’m a massive shrine otaku, so I’m happy this question came up!