Naritasan Shinshoji: Temple, Snacks and Unagi

Omotesando, Take Two

We’d already walked Narita’s Omotesando twice: in the rain on Day 1, and at 7am before the train to Sawara, when every shutter was still down.

Omotesando early in the morning, all shutters down — 7am

So in the afternoon, back from Sawara with the sun finally out, we did it properly. Snacks first.

A snack held up on the street — Soft serve

Naritasan Shinshoji

At the bottom of the street is Naritasan Shinshoji, a huge temple founded in 940. Most people who fly through Narita have no idea it’s there. The gate alone has more carving than most temples.

The carved roof of the main gate — Look at the carving

Minmin on the path up — Look at the carving

The three-storied pagoda from 1712 is the showpiece, red with colourful carvings under every roof.

Our selfie in front of the pagoda — Us and the pagoda

Another selfie with the pagoda — Us and the pagoda

Further back there’s a rock garden built into the hillside, more halls, and the Great Pagoda of Peace at the very top.

A rock garden on the hillside — Rock garden

A temple hall above the rocks — Rock garden

Unagi

Narita is famous for unagi. The eel used to come from the rivers and marshes around here, and the shops on Omotesando have been grilling it for over a hundred years. They also do the killing right there on the street: live eels, slit open on the board, blood drained out. The whole street had a damn strong bloody smell. Didn’t stop us. Dinner was still obvious.