- Home >
- Magazine Table of Contents - january-2012 >
- World's Most-Visited Sacred Sites
World's Most-Visited Sacred Sites
No. 1 Meiji Shrine and Sensoji-Temple, Tokyo
Annual Visitors: 30 million each
Built 100 years ago to honor the divine souls of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, the tranquil Meiji Shinto shrine is surrounded by a holy forest of 100,000-plus trees. Gardens feature spring azaleas, summer irises, autumn foliage on Japanese maples and gingkoes, and black pines dusted with winter snow. Sensoji, also in central Tokyo, was dedicated to Bodhisattva Kannon, the most compassionate Buddha, in 628. Its five-storied pagoda is dramatically lit at night. Continuing centuries-long tradition, stalls along the temple’s Nakamise Street sell food and goods to visitors—whose numbers swell around New Year’s. meijijingu.or.jp; senso-ji.jp
Source: Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO)
You might also like
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
