Senso-Ji (Asakusa Kannon) Temple and Hozomon Gate at night 2020


Even though I arrived late into Tokyo, I still wanted to see something. Typically many places in Japan have beautiful night displays and I couldn’t pass the chance of going to Senso-Ji Temple. Going at night is less crowds, but also less access (depending on the area).

I check in the hostel I am staying at and even though it was late, I decided to check out Hozomon Gate and Senso-Ji temple right off Asakusa station.

After getting off at Asakusa station, the exit had some pretty cool stuff!

As I started walking towards the Temple area and it was gorgeous! It’s actually pretty calm at night. I was taking pictures of the structures, signs, figures, art, and building designs as many looked old world vs modern.

The Temple area was surreal. I loved it. It was actually a chill evening.

The history of this temple is for the Goddess of Mercy.

Official website.

http://www.senso-ji.jp/

Reiyukai Shakaden Hall


Reiyukai Shakaden Hall is this space ship looking temple. It is a branch of Japanese Buddhism (from what I understand). Besides a prayer hall, there are a few amenities and even free Japanese lessons.

I was hoping to check this out, but unfortunately they were closed. This might have been due to the holidays that were happening at the time, Oban Festival and Mountain Day.

Nonetheless, I took pictures of Jacob infront of it.

On the back side, there was drums and music going on. This was also part of the festival. We checked it out, but did not want to intrude.

 

 

 

Kiyomizu-dera temple and Otowa Waterfall


Kiyomizu-dera is one of the famous temples in Kyoto (there are many tho).

It is an UNESCO World Heritage site!

After getting off the bus, we walked up a slightly inclined street. Along the way, many vendors and store fronts! It was busy.

 

Finally we came upon Kiyomizu-dera, you can see the steps leading to Nio-mon (the entrance) and Sai-mon right next to it.

 

After taking pictures and offering prayers, we walked down some stairs and seen the Otowa Waterfalls.

There was a long line, but once you get to the waterfall, you grab a ladle from the storage and reach for one of the 3 sprouts.