Top Things to do in Kanto
Top Hotels in Kanto
- 1. Grand Hyatt Tokyo
- 2. Millennium Mitsui Garden Hotel Tokyo
- 3. Haneda Excel Hotel Tokyu
- 4. Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu
- 5. The Royal Park Hotel Tokyo Haneda
- 6. Tokyo Bay Tokyu Hotel
- 7. Trunk(Hotel)
- 8. Mitsui Garden Hotel Shiodome Italia-gai
- 9. Shibuya Stream Excel Hotel Tokyu
- 10. Sotetsu Grand Fresa Tokyo-Bay Ariake
The 10 Best Sacred & Religious Sites in Kanto, Japan
Discover the best top things to do in Kanto, Japan including Kotoku-in (Great Buddha of Kamakura), Hase-dera Temple, Daiyuzan Saijoji Temple (Doryoson), Nikko Tosho-gu, Unganji Temple, Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple, Katori Jingu Shrine, Myogi Shrine, Haruna Shrine, Mitsumine Shrine.
Restaurants in Kanto
1. Kotoku-in (Great Buddha of Kamakura)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,033 reviews
This nearly 47-foot bronze statue of Amida Buddha is the second largest Buddha statue in Japan.
Reviewed By jeanettekz - Munich, Germany
After reading about some guided tours from northern Kamakura down through the hiking trails to the Buddha, we decided to just try and do it on our own. We were very happy we did because the peace and quiet of doing it as a couple was wonderful. Finishing our hike with the Buddha felt slightly triumphant. We didn't go inside of the Buddha, but it felt like a nice way to finish the day. We went in July and probably got there about mid-day but it wasn't ridiculously crowded, although busy. Very beautiful and impressive up-close. Kamakura was a very fun day trip for us outside of visiting Tokyo--I highly recommend it.
2. Hase-dera Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 1,716 reviews
This temple is most notable for its wooden statue of Kannon, the 11-headed goddess of mercy, but it also has a lovely garden and pond, and a viewing platform with a great city view.
Reviewed By Suzu1996
Japanese follows English. Located just a short distance from Hase Station, this is a famous temple with a very beautiful garden and an observation deck spot with a view of Kamakura. It was a very hot day in August, but the precinct was very cool and didn't make us feel the heat of summer. This temple has a lot of Jizo, and a thousand Jizo statues are a sight to behold. Signs have been installed to counter COVID-19, and 'Nagomi Jizo' is also wearing a mask. As the name suggests, this is a very soothing point. I recommend this temple to visit during this season when you want to feel the coolness. 以下、日本語です。 長谷駅からすぐのところにあり、非常に綺麗な庭園と鎌倉を一望できる展望台スポットなどがある有名なお寺です。 ８月で気温も非常に高い日でしたが、夏の暑さを感じさせない非常に涼しさを感じるお寺でした。 このお寺には非常に多くのお地蔵様がおり、千体地蔵は圧巻です。 COVID-19対策として看板を設置しているほか、和み地蔵もマスクをしています。名前の通り非常に和ませてくれるポイントになっていました。 涼しさを感じたいこの時期に安心して参拝できるおすすめのお寺です。
3. Daiyuzan Saijoji Temple (Doryoson)
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 111 reviews
Reviewed By sushi-ling - Dublin, Ireland
The temple complex was one of the most impressive we’ve seen in Japan. It’s situated in nature so it’s a really amazing peaceful place to spend the afternoon. We hiked to the temple from Daiyuzan town and it is a bit of climb but we did take a nice rewarding soak at the onsen close by after and took the onsen bus back to the town. There’s also an option to take the public bus there and back.
4. Nikko Tosho-gu
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 3,325 reviews
Reviewed By Andre_BAZ
This world heritage site is worth day trip to Nikko if visiting Tokyo. Straight forward to get here from Tobu Asakusa station and then a taxi or bus from Nikko station. The shrine was built for Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate that would govern Japan from 1603 until the Meiji restoration in 1867 and is a very elaborate set of different builds made out of wood with very complex and beautiful carvings and vivid colors. One of the greatest human architectural achievements.
5. Unganji Temple
6. Naritasan Shinsho-ji Temple
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 2,149 reviews
This temple is known for its fire ritual, which is performed several times a day. Visitors wishing to know their fortunes can purchase paper oracles from vending machines located on the grounds or pay a visit to one of the local soothsayers.
Reviewed By jubaanne - Pottsville, Australia
Highly recommend a visit here, especially with a volunteer complimentary guide which can be provided by emailing prior the temple’s information centre desk (which is located in a building that houses a large cafe across the road from the temple site entrance) I had emailed them the evening before and they were able to provide an English speaking guide for me. The guide was lovely and had excellent English skills. I was the only participant so we were able to move quickly through the area with great explanations of the different purposes of each temple. We happened to be there for the fire prayer service in the main temple. You must be able to climb several steps for the tour but it was manageable. The tour made my visit to this attraction so much more meaningful and I’d highly recommend accessing a guide or tour here, it is a great place to visit and the surrounding gardens are very tranquil. Allow time to walk the 15 minute walk down or back to/from the temple from the Narita Railway Station, the shopping and interesting shops/eateries are so interesting it might take you longer than 15 minutes!
7. Katori Jingu Shrine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 312 reviews
Reviewed By nashimiS34UC
Katori Jingu Shrine is amazing! I found out about this place through Katori's official English Facebook page, Little Edo Sawara. They talk about the history of the shrine and have amazing pictures (links below) and I had been wanting to come here for a while now! The path up to the shrine was beautiful and at the top of the path is this pond which reflects the nature around it. It was so peaceful and was such a nice place to relax. The shrine itself was black, which was really cool because I had never seen a black shrine before! There weren't too many people, which is a shame because it's a very nice shrine, but also kind of nice because it made it feel less touristy and more like the true traditional Japan, surrounded by nature. There were also deer behind the shrine! If you like to explore, there are all of these nooks and crannies to go through and you can discover all sorts of things, which was fun! Getting there, though, was a bit difficult. There are no trains or busses that really go there, so most people take taxis or walk, which takes about an hour from Sawara Station or Katori Station. I opted for walking so that I could see the countryside, but apparently, they offer electric bikes at the tourism association for 500 yen (not confirmed)! Anyways, highly recommend this place. *Little Edo Sawara Links* History: https://www.facebook.com/little.edo.sawara/posts/145728186809248 Autumn: https://www.facebook.com/little.edo.sawara/posts/153844135997653 Cherry Blossoms: https://www.facebook.com/little.edo.sawara/posts/222310249151041
8. Myogi Shrine
9. Haruna Shrine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 354 reviews
Reviewed By Juntasinee - Bangkok, Thailand
The shrine is situated on the mountain. You need to walk uphill to reach the shrine. The nature along the way and freash air will make you feel not tired at all. The nature is very beautiful with river, waterfall and forest . The shrine is great and once you see it, you could know it is, really valuable property. The place is peaceful and quiet. Worth to visit
10. Mitsumine Shrine
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 421 reviews
Reviewed By Retron - Leysdown-on-Sea, United Kingdom
I visited Mitsumine at the end of 2016 with a friend and we both thoroughly enjoyed our time there. This year we were back in Tokyo and we both wanted to go back - not least because we missed part of the shrine (the old part of it) and the shops and museum were closed in December. In the intervening months it seems that Mitsumine has been featured on a TV programme in Japan, as a "power spot". As a result, visitor numbers have gone up - which means you have to be quick off the mark if you're taking the rickety old bus to the shrine. As with last year, we went from Ikebukuro to Chichibu on the Seibu-Chichibu line. The tourist office has closed at Ikebukuro (they helped last year with filling in the train ticket forms), but luckily said forms are now in English as well as Japanese. The bus still leaves from the Chichibu train station, but this time there was a long queue awaiting us - unlike last time where we were the only ones heading for the shrine as we got off the train. Luckily, we were able to get seats on the bus (it's a 75-minute ride), but there were several people who had to stand throughout. More people got on as the bus stopped en route to the shrine. This time upon arrival at the shrine we both went straight past everything and headed west - for beyond the hotel, there's a path leading to the original old shrine. Unlike the new shrine (which is very fancy, colourful and dedicated to the founders of Japan), the old shrine is much more modest - and is the shrine which is dedicated to the wolf said to have guided the prince through the forest nearly 2000 years ago. The old shrine has plenty of wolf statues around it (and plenty more inside), along with offerings of sake and such placed there by worshippers. It was well worth the visit! The new shrine itself was just as before - splendid in every way and clearly fondly looked after. The guardian wolf statues had new bibs and there were different votive tablets (ema) for sale at the shrine shop. This time I picked up some of the new year ceremonial arrows, as well as some ema, another ofuda and some little wooden wolf charms (with bells). Unlike last time, the museum and main wolf gift shop was open. The museum is fascinating. It contains several pelts of wolves (including a Honshu wolf from Chichibu), as well as all sorts of things from the shrine in years gone by. There's also a story board explaining how the shrine was founded. It's all in Japanese, with pretty much no English whatsoever, but it's still well worth a visit. The only downside is that photography isn't allowed, so you'll have to make do with the museum's pamphlet. The wolf shop was well worth visiting. It's the only place in Japan that stocks so much wolf merchandise, as far as I'm aware, and aside from some rather overpriced soft toy wolves the rest of it was unique. I've been to wolf centres across the States, Canada, France, Spain and the UK - and most of the items on sale at Mitsumine were unique. They had laser-etched crystal replicas of the shrine (and wolf guardians), little glass wolves and pawprints, lots of types of sake - and glasses - a Japanese-style pen set, enamel badges and lots more besides. I spent a small fortune there, something not lost on the lady who served me - she disappeared for a bit, then came back with a carrier bag full of small square bits of paper. "Origami, tanabata", she said. She gave the bag to me, as a gift, meaning I've now got enough bits of paper to make a whole mass of origami wolves! Having seen how busy the bus was on the way out, we decided to get to the bus queue 25 minutes early for the way back. There was already quite a queue and we were lucky to get seats. It seems that Mitsumine has become more popular than before, so if you plan to visit there are a few things to bear in mind: * The museum and wolf shop are closed for the winter period - December to March. * They're also closed every Tuesday. * The shrine is more popular than ever, so be prepared to get to the bus stop at least 20 minutes before the bus is due to arrive. This is much harder to do on the way out if you're coming from Tokyo! * Weekdays are quieter than weekends, but there are fewer buses running. * Avoid the 1st of the month unless you really like queueing - special talismans/charms are given away and the queues are astronomical these days! 3km or more of queues aren't unheard of, meaning it'll take you hours and hours just to get to the shrine.
