Asakusa Kannon Temple

Before heading to the U2 show in Saitama, we decided to get a little more culture and headed to Sensoji to visit the Buddhist temple there.

Tokyo is funny in that a lot of beautiful and interesting temples and shrines are right up against much more modern buildings. No real effort has been made to separate them.

Here is the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) which is the entrance to the shrine. Tall gaijin like us have to walk around the lantern, otherwise we'd walk right into it.















The gate takes you to Nakamise Dori, which is lined with shops that sell all kinds of things, from traditional Japanese yukatas, kimonos, chopsticks and traditional snack to the latest in cheap electronic toys from China.

This picture is taken after we walked the length of the street, you can see the gate in the background.















This is a beautiful little garden/shrine that is on Nakamise Dori right before you enter the temple grounds. I thought I'd taken more and better pictures of the Buddhas, but this is all I can find. I'll have to go back! :)




















And at last we enter the main temple area, which unfortunately is under construction as they re-roof some of the buildings and make other improvements.















Before praying, as I mentioned before when I talked about Meiji Jingu, one must purify oneself. One way is to buy incense to burn, making sure the smoke covers your face and head.















One of the many swastikas you see at shrines and temples throughout Japan. Swastika is derived from a Sanskrit word for "good fortune" or "well being" and is a symbol of both, the Nazi perversion of it notwithstanding.















These dragons provide the water for one to cleanse hands and mouth.















There is also a great pagoda on the grounds:


























The ceiling of the temple itself has some great murals
































































































































You stand before this altar to pray...
















And if you wish you can take a chance on receiving good or bad luck. You roll some dice and select your fortune from one of the draws in the background. If it's good, you take it with you. If it's bad, you tie it to the metal bars and leave it behind.

So you have that going for you. Which is nice.















We also stumbled upon a model shoot in one of the side parks:















A few last shots of the temple:















These guys serve the same purpose as Gargoyles on Christian cathedrals