A Day At Sensō-ji Temple

Sensō-ji Temple from what I learned whilst I was there is that it is the oldest temple in Tokyo. Amazing, right? I remember once scrolling for hours through Pinterest and Flickr just admiring every single photo of this temple and marvelling at my own jealousy of the people who had already been. Honestly, looking back at these photos makes me nonchalantly sad but thinking and even remembering that I have actually been there is something else. What a feeling.



I remember leaving the metro station and only having to walk a few hundred metres to reach the entrance to the temple. I actually have quite a funny story about it. So basically I got to the entrance to the temple/market and I was taking selfies (which turned out horribly with so many photobombs) and this Japanese guy walks up to me who worked at the temple on a cute bike to tour people around with and could speak fantastic English offering to take it for me – which he did, thankfully! Then we started chatting for a bit and it was such a nice feeling talking to a Japanese native who could speak my language. I actually felt embarrassed I didn’t know a word of Japanese so he taught me how to say hello and goodbye which I thought was super sweet. He then asked me on a date to Yokohama for later that evening and asked for my number, which I gave him, but due to my tight schedule in Japan and considering it was my second last day I did not go on the date. He even offered to pick me up which was so cute I almost melted into a puddle of overwhelming happiness. That was a highlight of my trip. His name was Nari and he had the sweetest smile. Back to the temple… ahem…

The smoke in some of the photos has such a lovely story to it: people were lighting incense sticks and swirling them around in this well and either praying or chanting things. I think it’s a Buddhist tradition which I thought was wonderful, and the smoke smelled kind of lovely too. Another thing which made my day was the fact I was so close to the Tokyo SkyTree – the second tallest structure in the world! It was completely mesmerizing, and considering I didn’t ascend it I’m glad I still got to see it up close. Such an iconic landmark. Sensō-ji temple is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I think it would take a lot to beat it.