{"id":107331,"date":"2025-01-09T10:06:08","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T01:06:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=107331"},"modified":"2025-01-09T17:31:29","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T08:31:29","slug":"walk-from-meiji-shrine-to-sensoji-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/walk-from-meiji-shrine-to-sensoji-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"An End-of-Year Walk from Meiji Shrine to Sensoji Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A visit to a likely-heaving (Buddhist) temple to see out the old year (when the 108 worldly desires of attendees are, helpfully, sent packing by the corresponding number of strikes of a bell), and a New Year\u2019s Day excursion to a, possibly equally frantic, (Shinto) shrine, are just two (of the many) grand traditions of the Japanese <em><a href=\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/new-year-japan\/\">oshogatsu<\/a><\/em> (New Year) festivities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107341\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04.jpg\" alt=\"One of the big toriis in Meiji Shrine in Shibuya\" class=\"wp-image-107341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107342\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-ht-block-toc  is-style-outline htoc htoc--position-wide toc-list-style-plain\" data-htoc-state=\"expanded\"><span class=\"htoc__title\"><span class=\"ht_toc_title\">Table of Contents<\/span><span class=\"htoc__toggle\"><\/span><\/span><div class=\"htoc__itemswrap\"><ul class=\"ht_toc_list\"><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-o-shogatsu\">Oshogatsu<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-meiji-shrine\">Meiji Shrine<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-omotesando\">Omotesando<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-gaien-mae\">Gaien-Mae<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-sotobori-dori\">Sotobori Dori<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-asakusa-dori\">Asakusa Dori<\/a><\/li><li class=\"\"><a href=\"#htoc-senso-ji\">Sensoji<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-o-shogatsu\">Oshogatsu<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Avoidance of crowds in general, and organized events at almost any cost, being two of my own grand traditions, and having long-settled into a grudging coexistence with earthly temptation,<strong> I\u2019ve decided this year, to once again, skip these potentially oversubscribed red-letter occasions.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Feeling the need, however, to mark the turning of the year, if only in the quietest of ways, I\u2019ve decided to combine these popular customs into a contemplative year-end ritual of my own. And so, two days before <a href=\"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/christmas-how-japan-celebrate\/\">Christmas<\/a>,<strong> I am walking between Tokyo\u2019s most famous shrine and its most famous temple, leaving myself free to sit quietly at home with a plate of sandwiches when the big day(s) finally arrive.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-meiji-shrine\">Meiji Shrine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To the not-especially tranquil accompaniment of a petrol-driven leaf blower,<strong> I make my way through the Kitasando torii gate on my way to Shibuya\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.meijijingu.or.jp\/en\/\">Meiji Shrine<\/a>, from where I will cross Tokyo on foot to Asakusa\u2019s Sensoji Temple.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The path towards the shrine is straight and gravelly (and almost completely free of autumnal debris), and the sky, when glimpsed through branches overhead, is an impossibly pure and cloudless shade of cobalt blue. The cheerful chattering of unseen birdies comes from the dense and sun-dappled woodland on either side of me, blending with, and then overtaking, the sounds of human attempts to tidy-up nature; they don\u2019t pay it any mind, and soon enough, neither do I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-2 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107340\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107340\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji06.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji06-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107347\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230236\/Meiji05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230236\/Meiji05.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230236\/Meiji05-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107341\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107341\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230122\/Meiji04-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A few minutes trudge through this city-center idyll brings me to one more torii gate and then the shrine itself. <strong>Dedicated to the modernizing Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, and originally completed in 1926, it was built with wood from across the then-Japanese-empire, before being destroyed by American bombing during WWII.<\/strong> The current iteration was completed in 1958, and funded by public subscription.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Entering the inner complex, I find myself in a large and elegant courtyard, with buildings on all four sides. The space, although completely enclosed, seems very open after the canopy of the approach, and in its tidy formality gives the slightly unreal impression of a film or theater set. Robed priests dart about officiously, and bobble-hatted overseas visitors move carefully around kimonoed and Vuitton-handbagged locals, who offer their silent prayers with enviable panache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-3 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107342\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107342\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230144\/Meiji02-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107344\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107344\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji03.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji03-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107343\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji01.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230145\/Meiji01-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Not being given to prayer myself, I take a moment to listen to a breeze that blows agreeably through the century-old camphor trees, share some thoughts about the past and coming-years with the irreligious crows that perch atop them, and am on my way. As I depart, I see a groundsman sweeping leaves with a gnarled witch\u2019s broom. This strikes me as a more picturesque and environmentally appropriate weapon to wield in the ultimately Canute-like campaign against the tides of the trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-omotesando\">Omotesando<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Leaving the shrine grounds I can see Kenzo Tange\u2019s National Gymnasium to my right and, unfurling before me, Omotesando, that other place of pilgrimage for ladies-and-gents-about-town. <strong>The much-perambulated pavements of the well-heeled avenue are not quite so adventurously stylish as they once were, but still offer plenty of fashion-bang, with some of this afternoon\u2019s nattiest boulevardiers being somewhat pampered dogs on their afternoon walkies.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoying the parade, I make my way past the new Tokyu Plaza building with its overflowing rooftop garden, cross Meiji Dori and continue past Ralph Lauren\u2019s faux-classical warehouse and the angular glassiness of Dior and Fendi, before taking a left turn onto Aoyama Dori.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-gaien-mae\">Gaien-Mae<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Before long I find myself at the entrance to the Icho Namiki (Gingko Avenue) that forms the much-loved centerpiece of the Jingu Gaien park complex, supposedly a protected \u201cScenic Zone\u201d since 1926. <\/strong>Tragically, it is clear that highly-protested redevelopments of the area have already begun, with green plastic fencing and mounds of mud signaling the outbreak of an ugly capitalist rash that threatens to scar the face of this once-arcadian beauty spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enjoying it while I can, I make my way between the towering gingko, wondering as I go, at those who would take the riches of a city to benefit themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-4 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107345\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230213\/GingkoAvenue02.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230213\/GingkoAvenue02.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230213\/GingkoAvenue02-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107346\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230214\/GingkoAvenue01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107346\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230214\/GingkoAvenue01.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07230214\/GingkoAvenue01-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of the avenue I find a not-quite-bustling Christmas market, but having drunk mulled wine just as many times at it took to learn not to (once), and not being in need of bewhiskered wooden nutcrackers, I decide to give it a miss, turning right at a hedge full of carol-singing sparrows, and heading along the well-policed road that skirts the Akasaka Palace grounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-sotobori-dori\">Sotobori Dori<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From the nearby Yotsuya Station, as far the electronic candy-floss of Akihabara, and then eventually Ueno, I become locked into a bracing, but ultimately non-eventful plod, which for the most part takes me down Sotobori Dori alongside the old Edo moat, leisurely ticking off the stations of the Chuo-Sobu Line. If I wasn\u2019t so keen to get good wear out of my old lace-up shoes, it would have made sense to do this portion of the journey by train, but instead I enjoy watching them rattle by, the citrus colors of their livery pleasingly picked out against the dazzling winter sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery aligncenter has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-5 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107348\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231301\/OldEdoMoat01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107348\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231301\/OldEdoMoat01.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231301\/OldEdoMoat01-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"576\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107349\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231624\/sotobori_dori.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107349\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231624\/sotobori_dori.jpg 576w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07231624\/sotobori_dori-281x500.jpg 281w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 576px) 100vw, 576px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Photo on the right: Maria Pe\u00f1ascal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-asakusa-dori\">Asakusa Dori<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Entering Asakusa Dori, close to Ueno Station, I sense a change in the air, and the further I progress, the more old-world the surroundings become. <strong>Small shrines and quaint houses line the streets that stretch away on either side, and the logos and signs of the businesses take on a well-worn vintage aspect<\/strong>. There are soba shops, brush-makers, stationers and haberdasheries, as well as many craftspeople whose business revolves around remembrance of the dead.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-6 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"667\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107351\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232252\/kappabashi.jpg\" alt=\"Views from Skytree from Kappabashi street\" class=\"wp-image-107351\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232252\/kappabashi.jpg 667w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232252\/kappabashi-326x500.jpg 326w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 667px) 100vw, 667px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"520\" height=\"922\" data-id=\"107368\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07235523\/asakusa_dori-edited.jpg\" alt=\"One the shrines in Asakusa Dori\" class=\"wp-image-107368\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07235523\/asakusa_dori-edited.jpg 520w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07235523\/asakusa_dori-edited-282x500.jpg 282w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 520px) 100vw, 520px\" \/><\/figure>\n<figcaption class=\"blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption\">Photos: Maria Pe\u00f1ascal<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Just as proximity to the paraphernalia of bereavement threatens to put the mockers on my jaunt, <strong>I pass by the pots-and-pans madness of Kappabashi, the supply hub of Tokyo\u2019s catering trade<\/strong>. The gleaming kitchenware and crockery on offer, with its life-affirming suggestion of nourishment and good times ahead, puts the spring back in my step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"htoc-senso-ji\">Sensoji<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Traveling with the very last of the day\u2019s light, I make a left turn onto Edo Dori and am finally<strong> on the approach to Sensoji, Tokyo\u2019s oldest established temple, with a history that stretches back to the year 645. Like Meiji Shrine, much of the temple complex was destroyed by American bombing in WWII, with rebuilding of the temple itself finished in 1958, and the surrounding buildings only finally completed in 1973.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-7 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107354\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232353\/Sensoji06.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107354\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232353\/Sensoji06.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232353\/Sensoji06-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" data-id=\"107352\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji01.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107352\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji01.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji01-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107353\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji05.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107353\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji05.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232352\/Sensoji05-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before long, the Kaminarimon gate is ahead of me, lit up, appropriately enough, like a Christmas tree, with its almost four-meter red lantern spreading a welcoming glow. The arrival of evening having thinned the crowds, temple visitors and rickshaw drivers stand around in roughly equal number, and I make my way first between them, and then through the rather more imposing figures of Fujin and Raijin, the gods of wind and thunder who stand guard at this sacred threshold.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232414\/Sensoji03.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107355\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232414\/Sensoji03.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232414\/Sensoji03-500x375.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-8 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107357\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji10.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107357\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji10.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji10-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"1024\" data-id=\"107356\" src=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji04.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-107356\" srcset=\"https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji04.jpg 768w, https:\/\/s3.voyapon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/07232448\/Sensoji04-375x500.jpg 375w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>With the even-grander lantern of the temple acting as a beacon, <strong>I make my way down Nakamise Dori, a cheerful parade of souvenir shops dealing in all manner of appealingly retro bric-a-brac and goodies, before at last, climbing the stairs of the great hall, and soaking in the gold of its illumination.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/d\/u\/1\/embed?mid=1CtuUxp4QYCrea8dyjK_Y1-8eFlhQF0g&amp;ehbc=2E312F\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>I turn to look back the way I\u2019ve come, and gaze down at other visitors who are making their way along the path that I\u2019ve just traveled. They are drawn, like me, towards the temple\u2019s radiant glow, each instinctive footstep an acknowledgement of the power of color and light over the cold and dark of winter. I silently wish them a happy and peaceful 2025, a wish I extend to all who are kind enough to read these words.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A visit to a likely-heaving (Buddhist) temple to see out the old year (when the 108 worldly desires of attendees&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":107347,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"pgc_meta":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26,1418,1408,23],"tags":[1398,1306,1307],"class_list":{"0":"post-107331","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-culture","8":"category-featured","9":"category-kanto","10":"category-sightseeing","11":"tag-history","12":"tag-shrine","13":"tag-temple"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>An End-of-Year 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