Sensōji is Tokyo’s oldest and most famous Buddhist temple, dedicated to Kannon, the bodhisattva of compassion. Located in Asakusa, it is known for Kaminarimon Gate, Nakamise shopping street, a fivestory pagoda, and millions of annual visitors.
Why you should go
- Don't miss looking up at the underside of the giant red lantern at Kaminarimon Gate, where you'll find intricate dragon carvings that most visitors overlook while taking photos of the lantern's front.
- Despite its ancient appearance, the current main hall is made of reinforced concrete with a titanium roof, rebuilt in the 1950s after being destroyed in the 1945 Tokyo firebombing.
- Founded in 628 AD when two fishermen brothers pulled a Kannon statue from the Sumida River, the brothers themselves became enshrined as deities at the adjacent Asakusa Shrine.






















