Kaminarimon gate
And its giant red lantern.
C.L. Kao (eddie5150) — CC BY-SA 3.0 · そらみみ (Soramimi) — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Daderot — Public domain · Sergey Galyonkin — CC BY-SA 2.0 · googolnobunaga — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Aranril from Nakamise in Sensoji, Asakusa, Taito, Tokyo — CC BY 2.0 · Maksym Kozlenko — CC BY-SA 3.0 · KimonBerlin — CC BY-SA 2.0
Tokyo's oldest and best-known temple, a Buddhist temple in Asakusa dedicated to Kannon, the Buddhist figure of compassion, and also called Asakusa Kannon. Tradition holds that two fishermen brothers found a statue of Kannon in the Sumida River in 628, and the temple was built for it. Visitors enter through the Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) with its huge red lantern, then walk along Nakamise-dōri, packed with shops selling traditional sweets and souvenirs, to the two-storey Hōzōmon gate and on to the main hall, beside a five-storey pagoda. The main hall was destroyed in the air raid on Tokyo of 10 March 1945 and rebuilt in the 1950s. The temple is described as the most visited religious site in the world, with more than 30 million visitors a year. Entry is free; the grounds are open around the clock, and the main hall from 6:00 (6:30 from October to March) to 17:00, per visitor guides. It is busiest at midday and at weekends, so early morning is calmer, and it is lovely at night when the gates and pagoda are lit.
And its giant red lantern.
Sweets and souvenirs.
Five storeys high.
Asakusa, Taitō ward
Yes. Entry is free, the grounds are open around the clock and the main hall from 6:00 to 17:00 per visitor guides; early morning is the calmest time.
