Best Temples around Tokyo and Surroundings Spot List

One of two Daihonzan (head temples) of the Soto school of Zen Buddhism, with modern buildings in the spacious temple grounds. You can practice Zen meditation here.

A spacious Buddhist temple with buildings of historical and cultural value. Kan'ei-ji is easily accessible to the general public and heartily welcomes visitors.

The main gate of Sensoji Temple. Its huge, impressive paper lantern with ”Kaminarimon” written in kanji is a landmark of Asakusa.

The temple hall is classified as an Important Cultural Property, modeled after Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto Higashiyama. The gorgeous vermillion facade fascinates visitors.

Famous for the Great Buddha of Kamakura which weighs 121 tonnes, Kotoku-in is a Buddhist temple of the Jodo-shu sect.

The fierce-eyed Fudo Myo-o (Acala) statue, this Buddhist temple's main object of worship, is really astounding. The backdrop of beautiful red maple leaves is also impressive.

It is the Buddhist temple which is said to be the origin of maneki-neko or a luck-inviting cat figurine, beckoning with its right front paw. In its temple grounds, a number of historical assets still remain.

Surrounded by nature and visited by many people, Bentendo Temple rises from the center of Shinobazu Pond in Ueno Park.

This is a historically valuable temple that has National Treasures within its magnificent scenery that makes good use of nature. Zazen seated meditation meetings are held on weekends.

Main priests' residence of Senso-ji complex where the Three Buddha Statues of Amitabha are enshrined. The temple also houses ancestral tablets of Tokugawa Shoguns.

The principal object of worship at Ennoji Temple is Enma Daio. It also enshrines the Ten Judges of Hell. You can experience an ancient view of the afterlife here.

It is a daihonzan major temple of Nichiren-school Buddhism. Various historical buildings remain on the temple precincts, such as the Daido large hall, the Honden main hall, the Tahoto jeweled pagoda, and a five-story pagoda.

Sanehira Jiro Doi is famous for protecting Yoritomo Minamoto from Kagechika Oba’s army after he had lost the Battle of Ishibashiyama. Joganji Temple is the family temple of the Doi clan. The temple grounds contain many sights of historic interest, including Shichikido, a hall which keeps the seven wooden statues depicting Yoritomo and each of his samurai warriors who played an active part in the revival of the Minamoto family, as well as the Doi family’s burial ground (designated as a Kanagawa cultural property). A Chinese juniper tree planted by Sanehira himself (estimated to be 800 years old and designated as a national natural monument) is the largest and oldest in Kanagawa Prefecture, and its straight, vertical trunk is an impressive sight thought to be extremely rare in Japan.