Tokyo - Event

Achieving Zen in a tightly enclosed space is a Japanese spiritual achievement and really put to the test for O-Shogatsu, when Tokyo's inhabitants descend on their beloved temples en masse for an annual purification.

The auspicious day of ganjitsu, 1 January, is traditionally supposed to be full of joy and free of stress and anger. After a bowl of ozoni mochi soup and a sweetened glass of otose rice wine, the masses flock to their local temple or shrine. Tokyo has topped Japan's population charts for ten years running, and the temples reflect it; Meiji Jingu Shrine attracts the biggest crowds, closely followed by the Kawasaki Daishi Shrine and the Sensoji Temple.

Please contact the tourist office for more information.