Sensoji Temple - Asakusa

On the east side of Tokyo is the famous and impressive Sensoji Temple. According to Tokyo history, way back in 628, some lowly fishermen found a small statue of the goddess Kannon in their nets from the nearby Sumida River, and not understanding what it was, tossed it back, only to catch it again and again. Finally they took it to the local temple to get advice, and it was decided to build the Sensoji Temple to honor Kannon. This makes Sensoji Tokyo's oldest temple, and its large red lantern at its entrance is one of the most recognizable symbols of the city.



That isn't even the temple - that's just the first gate. After you enter the first gate, you walk down a shopping lane turned into a tourist trap, selling a wide variety of overpriced crap -- oops, I mean, wonderful Japanese souveniers! But once you escape the tourist trap, at the end of the lane you come upon the entrance to the main temple.

Look closely - do you see a cloud of incense wafting in the middle?




Before entering the temple, you have to 'bathe' yourself in the incense smoke to purify yourself. You can buy a bunch of incense and light it in the flames, so incense is constantly in the air at this place.



After that, you are ready to enter the temple.




The main building of Sensoji. As you can see there are a hell of a lot of tourists around all the time and it is easy to forget that this is a place of worship, and that inside the temple people are offering their prayers. They must think the tourists are annoying no? If you get prefer, you can do like these old geezers and just breeze out on the steps.



The Sensoji area is quite large, with lots of little gardens and statues of various gods, and, of course, the big man himself, Buddha. I've learnt that the position of Buddha's hands (postures) mean different things. When the hands are pressed together in prayer, it signifies 'the adoration of power'.



Ironically enough, just outside of Tokyo's oldest temple, is an interesting piece of architecture, at the ultra modern Asahi Beer Brewery with its.... um... unique sculpture on top.



Designed by Phillip Stark, the sculpture is called Flame d’Or, or The Golden Flame. It's supposed to represent a glass of fresh, frothy, golden hued Asahi beer. However, Tokyoites took one look at it, and promptly nick named it 'The Golden Turd'. Seems that the Japanese are not without a sense of humour!