Sensō-ji

Sensō-ji is Tokyo's oldest temple, founded in 645 and dedicated to Kannon. It stands in Asakusa, on the north-east side of the city, and it is the most visited religious site in the world: over 30 million people a year pass through it. That number is the single most useful thing to know before you go, because it shapes the whole visit. The grounds are open at all hours and the main hall by day, so the temple is at its best either early in the morning or late in the evening, once the lanterns are lit and the day crowd has gone home.

You do not so much arrive at Sensō-ji as walk up to it. The approach begins at the Kaminarimon, the outer gate with its huge red lantern, and carries on along Nakamise-dōri, a street of small stalls selling snacks, sweets, fans and souvenirs that runs all the way to the temple. It is commerce, and it has been for a very long time, so treat it as part of the visit rather than a detour around it. Eat what you buy where you buy it instead of walking with it, and keep hold of the wrapper: public bins are rare in Japan.

Asakusa Shrine stands right beside the temple, and it is Shinto rather than Buddhist, which puts two sets of manners on one site. At the shrine you bow as you pass through the torii, rinse your hands at the water basin, then drop a coin in the box and do two bows, two claps and one bow. At the temple a coin and a quiet bow is enough. Shoulders and knees covered is the safe choice at both, voices stay down, and shoes come off wherever you are asked for them. Smoking on the street is illegal in Tokyo, so use the designated areas.

Asakusa is on the subway, so the temple is a short walk from the station and an IC card is all you need to get to it: Suica and Pasmo work on trains, subways and buses across the country, and at convenience stores too. Come at dawn or after dark if you want the place without the queue. Bring some cash as well, since the small stalls on the approach still prefer it, and put the notes in the tray at the till rather than into the seller's hand. Goodbars sells a Japan eSIM you install at home and switch on when you land; it runs on NTT docomo, Japan's largest mobile network by mobile contracts, and our Japan coverage page shows where it reaches and what independent speed tests measure.