Tokyo Travel Diaries: Asakusa & Sensoji Temple

Sharing with you our travel diary from our visit to Asakusa in Japan last fall. What I was excited to see was Sensoji, Tokyo's most famous and popular temple, and also Nakamise, a shopping street where you can buy souvenirs and snacks.

You can go around Asakusa on a guided tour via a rickshaw, but hubby and I decided to just go around on foot.  I read online that a 30 minute tour for two persons costs around 9000 yen.

When approaching the temple, visitors first enter through the Kaminarimon, the outer gate of Sensoji. This is the temple's second gate, the Hozomon, which also has the famous giant red lantern.

Admission to the Sensoji Temple is free and it's open from 6AM to 5PM (from 6:30 in October to March).

the 5-storied pagoda

There's a large pot full of incense before you enter the temple. We just went up to it and did what everyone else was doing which was to wave the smoke towards them. I found out later that it's for healing or good health.

A short walk to the right side of the temple is Asakusa Shrine.

It's also nice to see the Tokyo Skytree from a distance. It's like seeing the old Japan with the new. You can actually take about a 20 minute walk across the Sumida River from Asakusa to the Skytree. But we just took the train since we were tired already. ;p

The temple also looks pretty at night all lit up. Check out the next post for our Nakamise Street shopping experience.

Get There and Around

Asakusa is served by the Ginza Subway Line, Asakusa Subway Line, Tsukuba Express and Tobu Railways. It can also be accessed by the Tokyo Water Bus.

From Tokyo Station

Take the JR Yamanote Line to Kanda Station (2 minutes, 140 yen) and transfer to the Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa (10 minutes, 170 yen).

From Shinjuku Station

Take the orange JR Chuo Line to Kanda Station (10 minutes, 170 yen) and transfer to the Ginza Subway Line for Asakusa (10 minutes, 170 yen).