Senso-ji is Tokyo’s oldest Buddhist temple, founded in 628 AD after local fishermen reportedly pulled a statue of the bodhisattva Kannon from the Sumida River. The temple later became the site where prayers for the Tokugawa shogunate were offered, and though the current crimson buildings date from a postwar reconstruction, the site retains deep historical resonance.
Visitors approach through the towering Kaminarimon (Thunder Gate) and walk the roughly 200-meter Nakamise shopping street, lined with stalls selling traditional snacks and souvenirs, before reaching the inner Hozomon gate and the main hall.
The temple grounds are open 24 hours and free to enter, though the main hall and shops generally operate from around 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. Senso-ji draws roughly 30 million visitors a year, making it one of the most visited spiritual sites in the world.