The Lucky Cat Temple
In a corner of Gotokuji Temple, I discovered a Kannon figure totally surrounded by maneki neko lucky cats! Their raised paws are believed to beckon money and good luck into the owner’s business, so shopkeepers from all over Tokyo come here to buy a cat figure and offer it to the bodhisattva, hoping for a big uptick in the bottom line.
If you’d like to visit Gotoku-ji Temple the next time you’re in Tokyo, a map is on my website, The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had.
And just for fun, here are the eleven strangest shrines in Tokyo, with all the inside scoop on the resident gods’ superpowers
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Jonelle Patrick View All
Writing mystery books set in Tokyo is mostly what I do, but I also blog about the odd stuff I see every day in Japan. I'm a graduate of Stanford University and the Sendagaya Japanese Institute in Tokyo, and a member of the International Thriller Writers, the Mystery Writers of America, and Sisters In Crime. When I'm not in Tokyo, I live in San Francisco. I also host a travel site called The Tokyo Guide I Wish I'd Had, so if you're headed to Japan and want to check out the places I take my friends when they're in town, take a look!
Isn’t Gotokuji great? I published almost the same photo on January 20.
Wouldn’t it have been even stranger if I’d done this post last week, like I was planning to?
I’d also say it was cosmically weird that we took those pictures standing in EXACTLY the same place, but probably that’s where everybody has to stand to get the maximum number of cats into the picture. heh. Do you know if Gotokuji is great at any time of year besides fall? It was gorgeous in November, but that’s the only time I’ve been there. Wondering if they’ve got plum trees or something…
You’re right–everyone has to stand in the same spot, but what fun!
The last time I went was June of 2012–blog post on June 13–and it was quiet, cool, the pagoda kind of glowed in the sunshine. Dunno if they have plum or sakura. Setagaya Kannon has absolutely wonderful sakura. Maybe we should make a plan for a spring outing?
You’re on! I’ve never been to Setagaya Kannon! When I get to Tokyo on the 21st, I’ll post my contact info in this thread, so we can get in touch…
I love this!
My feelings exactly, the minute I spied it! There’s something about there being so many of them, and so many different sizes!
I’ve always loved lucky cats, but this is… almost enough to make me happy.
You should come and see it for yourself! (=^ェ^=)