The large entrance you can see in front of you is known as Kaminarimon, or Thunder Gate: the two statues at either side represent the two deities of wind and thunder.
The huge red and black paper lantern – almost four meters tall and more than three meters wide and weighing 700 kilos – is a votive offering made to the temple by the founder of Panasonic, Matsushita Konosuke.
As you walk through the entrance, you’ll see two colorful statues of a man and a woman, representing two guardians of the temple.
Beyond the entrance is a 250-meter-long street called Nakamise, which leads to the second gate of the temple. You may be surprised that the street is packed with souvenir shops: this is one of the oldest shopping streets in Japan, where shops opened already in the early 18th century to meet the needs of the numerous pilgrims flocking to the temple.
Now press pause, enjoy some shopping, and press play again when you come to the second gate.
This entrance, known as the Treasure House Gate, leads into the main hall of the temple, which also has a large paper lantern in the center, as well as another two at the sides. Inside are two statues of the deity Nio, another Buddhist guardian of the temple.
The Main Hall has been rebuilt in reinforced concrete, with the roof tiles coated in titanium.
As you can see, this inner hall features large columns in red wood, a tatami floor, a ceiling painted with frescoes of Buddhist deities and numerous lanterns. In a sort of “temple within the temple”, separated by a pane of glass, you can see the enormous main altar, with the statue of Guanyin, another altar with a statue of Buddha, and two other small side altars dedicated to two samurai.
An interesting fact: in the temple you’ll find stalls with omikuji, or predictions, prepared by the temple staff, drawn based on a number. If you’d like to pick one, go ahead: the predictions are written in both Japanese and English.
