Kiyosumi Shirakawa

My favorite shrine. This is where natives go to be tourists

About

Sensoji is one of my favorite places in Japan. I call the whole area Sensoji, but this is not quite accurate. The area contains

• Sensoji - Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist Shrine
• The Asakusa Shinto Shrine - a five story pagoda adjacent to sensoji,
• Kaminarimon - The “Thunder Gate” at the front of the area.
• Nakamise-dori - a long shopping street leading from Kaminarimon to Hōzōmon
• Hōzōmon - A gate that leads to the inner complex containing Sensoji and the Asakusa Buddhist Shrine

What to do in the area

Sensoji has a lot of different activities. Realistically you can spend the whole day here. There are snacks to eat and souvineers to buy at Nakamise-dori. Once passing Hozomon you can buy fortunes in English for a few hundred yen. The Shinto Shrine has goshuin and goshuin books. The surrounding area has traditional goods and modern food and shopping. This is one of the few places you can buy geta and go to a Don Quixote.