Sensō-ji Temple

What we love…

• This ancient Buddhist temple and its surrounding ground is a busy tourist attraction, and the location of largest Shinto festival in Tokyo. During the third week in May locals and tourists gather at the shrine to partake in parades, traditional music, dance, and food held in honor of the shrine. 
• The shrine is marked by the large gate called ‘Kaminarimon’ or Thunder Gate, that is decorated with bold red and black lanterns.  
• You'll see a number of patrons participating in Shinto traditions like covering the head in smoke for luck, rinsing the mouth with holy water from the fountain, or our personal favorite, the Omikuji fortunes.

TIP

• This is how you find out your Omikuji fortune: You pay a small fee (100¥), shake the metal container sitting on the counter and tilt it sideways to select a stick out of the jar. That stick will have a number on it which you match to the number on the small chest of drawers. Inside the drawers you'll find paper with your Omikuji fortune written on it. The fortunes can be good, bad, or average. If you're outcome is bad you'll want to fold up the paper and tie it to one of the metal racks, this is done so the bad fortune will attach itself to the rack instead of you. If your fortune happens to be good you can either tie it to the rack to increase its effect or keep it with you for luck.