Temple · Shiba Park

Zojoji Temple 増上寺

A grand Jodo-sect temple framed by Tokyo Tower, the city's most famous photo juxtaposition, with Tokugawa shogun tombs and rows of tiny jizo statues in knitted red caps.

About

Zojoji was the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns, and six of them rest in the mausoleum behind the main hall. The vermilion Sangedatsumon gate, built in 1622, is one of the oldest wooden structures in Tokyo and survived both the 1923 earthquake and wartime bombing. Inside the grounds, the 1974 Daiden main hall sits directly in front of Tokyo Tower, giving Tokyo its classic old-meets-new shot, especially when the tower glows orange at night. Along the west side, hundreds of small stone jizo statues dressed in red bibs and knitted caps, many holding pinwheels that spin in the breeze, honour unborn children. The underground treasure gallery displays a superb restored model of the lost Taitoku-in mausoleum of the second shogun.

Highlights

• Sangedatsumon gate (1622), passing through it is said to free you of three passions
• Daiden main hall with Tokyo Tower rising directly behind it
• Garden of Unborn Children: rows of jizo in red caps with spinning pinwheels
• Tokugawa shogun mausoleum behind bronze gates
• Treasure gallery with a 1/10-scale model of the Taitoku-in mausoleum

Tips

• The best Zojoji + Tokyo Tower shot is from just inside the Sangedatsumon gate after sunset when the tower lights up.
• Combine with Tokyo Tower (5 min walk) and Shiba Park's Maruyama burial mound for a half-day.
• Daimon Station (Asakusa / Oedo Line) Exit A6 brings you under the Daimon gate in a straight line to the temple.

Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-09

Nearby

• Tokyo Tower from Zojoji's SangedatsumonPhoto Spot · 200 m away
• The Prince Park Tower TokyoStay · 250 m away
• Tokyo TowerLandmark & Tower · 300 m away
• Minato City Tourist Information Center (Tokyo Tower Foot Town)Tourist Info · 300 m away
• Shiba Maruyama KofunLocal Secret · 310 m away
• Shiba ParkPark · 390 m away
• Shiba DaijinguShrine · 430 m away
• Tokyo Tower from Akabanebashi CrossingPhoto Spot · 440 m away