Must see attractions in Asakusa & Sumida River

Tokyo’s most visited temple enshrines a golden image of Kannon (the Buddhist goddess of mercy), which, according to legend, was miraculously pulled out of…

Tokyo's history museum documents the city's transformation from tidal flatlands to feudal capital to modern metropolis via detailed scale re-creations of…

Belonging to the esoteric Shingon sect, at this active temple you can attend one of the city's most spectacular religious rituals. Goma (fire rituals)…

Tokyo Skytree opened in May 2012 as the world’s tallest ‘free-standing tower’ at 634m. Its silvery exterior of steel mesh morphs from a triangle at the…

The woodblock artist Hokusai Katsushika (1760–1849) was born and died close to the location of this museum, which opened in 2016 in a striking aluminium…

Founded in 1627, this shrine is famous as the birthplace of the sumo tournament. Around the back of the main building is the yokozuna (sumo grand…

The highlight of this museum is a fascinating collection of Japanese folk articles, mainly patched clothing and pieces of fabric, known as boro, gathered…

For a primer in the major movements of post-WWII Japanese art, a visit to the permanent collection gallery here should do the trick. Temporary exhibitions…

The Sensō-ji temple precinct begins at this majestic gate, from which hangs an enormous chōchin (lantern); look under this to see a beautiful carved…

One of Tokyo's most picturesque retreats, Kiyosumi-teien started out in 1721 as the villa of a daimyō (domain lord; regional lord under the shoguns)…

This subtemple of Sensō-ji dates to the late 17th century. The deity enshrined here is a guardian of women and the temple is the site of a curious ancient…

At the end of Sensō-ji's Nakamise-dōri, this gate is flanked by two fierce guardian deities. On the gate’s back side are a pair of 2500kg, 4.5m-tall…

Asakusa-jinja was built in honour of the brothers who discovered the Kannon statue that inspired the construction of Sensō-ji. Deep red in colour, the…

For visitors with a keen interest in Japanese sword-making – an art that continues to this day – this museum, which relocated to a new building in 2018,…

During the Edo period (1603–1868), Fukagawa was a typical working-class neighbourhood, with narrow alleys and tenement homes. You can get an idea of what…

Worth searching out is this quirky 40-sq-metre exhibition space in an unmarked old house, hiding down a narrow alley. It's run by contemporary art curator…

Senso-ji's eastern gate is one of the temple complex's rare, Edo-era buildings: it's been standing since 1618. Though it appears minor today, this gate…

This jet-black, inverted obelisk, part of Asahi Beer's headquarters, was designed by Philippe Starck and completed in 1989; atop it sits a 'golden flame'…

There are hundreds of drums from around the world here, including several traditional Japanese taiko. The best part is that you can actually play most of…

On the grounds of Sensō-ji, this 53m-high, five-storey pagoda is a 1973 reconstruction of a pagoda built by Tokugawa Iemitsu in 1648. The current…