Sugamo Jizo-dori
巣鴨地蔵通り商店街 · Sugamo Jizo-dori
- Ward
- Toshima
- Price
- Free (worship) · ¥300~2,000
- Hours
- shopping street 10:00-18:00app
- Closed
- varies by shop
- Getting there
- 5 min from JR Sugamo Stn; or Koshinzuka stop on the Toden Arakawa Line
- Founded
- 1891
- Fairs fall on the 4th, 14th and 24th of each month
- Beside the main hall stands the 'washing Kannon'
- In 1715 a maid swallowed a needle
We do not republish copyrighted photographs. Use the links below to see the actual venue.
Obvious to locals, invisible to visitors
There is a simple reason guidebooks leave this out: to the people who live here it is too obvious to be worth explaining.
Fairs fall on the 4th, 14th and 24th of each month. Traditionally only the 24th counted, but the temple that moved here in 1891 extended it to every day with a four in it to draw crowds. On those days stalls line the 800m street and the place is transformed.
Beside the main hall stands the 'washing Kannon': pour water over the statue and wipe whichever part of it matches your own ailment. Scrubbing brushes wore the original away, so a new figure was installed in 1992 and cloth is used now.
In 1715 a maid swallowed a needle. She was given one of the temple's paper talismans to drink down, and the needle reportedly came back up pierced through it. 'Needle-pulling' became 'thorn-pulling', and so the temple got its name.
Red underwear is said to keep you vigorous, and the shop selling it draws a crowd out of all proportion to its size. Salt daifuku, pickles and dried fish fill the stalls, chosen for the clientele.
What it is
Toshima is a ward centred on the Ikebukuro entertainment district. Walk on and the line between public path and someone's daily life blurs. That blur is the character of the place. No admission fee — but almost no facilities either, so bring water. Weekday mornings are calmest; expect to queue at weekend lunch. Leave large bags in a station locker; there is not much room inside. It would be a waste to stop at just this one — there is more of the same density within five hundred metres.
What to order
Why locals keep coming
It costs nothing, so it fits any itinerary regardless of budget. It is closer to seeing the city's reverse side — nothing like a manicured observation deck.