One thing that Tokyo does not lack is temples. While I was sitting down having a coffee and reading about things to do in Tokyo the Fukagawa Fudoson (and the nearby Tomioka Hachiman-gu) caught my attention.
The Fukagawa Fudoson temple dates back to the 18th century and the Tomioka Hachiman-gu was founded in 1627. The length of time that some of these temples have stood in the one spot (no matter how many times they have been rebuilt) is amazing.
The Fukagawa Fudoson is a Buddhist traffic temple where people come to pray for road safety. This also means that people bring their new cars to be blessed.
When you enter the temple area you notice the different wash stand that has a number of stylized dragons providing water to cleanse you.
As we visited just before new years there were a number of ceremonies happening including this blessing.
As you approach the temple you enter a street lined with stalls selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things to catch your attention including boiled lollies.
There is also a smaller shrine with a monk out the front taking donations and handing out blessings.
The Tomioka Hachiman-gu shrine is a lot quieter than the Fukagawa Fudoson temple. Birds abound and there are no crowds. The whole temple area is shielded from the surrounding buildings by bamboo and huge trees.
The Fukagawa Fudoson temple dates back to the 18th century and the Tomioka Hachiman-gu was founded in 1627. The length of time that some of these temples have stood in the one spot (no matter how many times they have been rebuilt) is amazing.
The Fukagawa Fudoson is a Buddhist traffic temple where people come to pray for road safety. This also means that people bring their new cars to be blessed.
When you enter the temple area you notice the different wash stand that has a number of stylized dragons providing water to cleanse you.
As we visited just before new years there were a number of ceremonies happening including this blessing.
As you approach the temple you enter a street lined with stalls selling all sorts of weird and wonderful things to catch your attention including boiled lollies.
There is also a smaller shrine with a monk out the front taking donations and handing out blessings.
The Tomioka Hachiman-gu shrine is a lot quieter than the Fukagawa Fudoson temple. Birds abound and there are no crowds. The whole temple area is shielded from the surrounding buildings by bamboo and huge trees.
Comments (0)