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Tokyo · Mysteries & legends

Kappa, a bodiless Buddha and hidden gods: Tokyo's legends

Old Tokyo's low city, the shitamachi, keeps its legends in plain sight. On this route you will walk from the city's oldest temple to Shinobazu Pond, passing the temple of the kappa and the street where chefs do their shopping. At every stop we carefully separate what the documents tell us from what tradition tells us.

  • 6 stops
  • 3.6 km
  • 1 h 55 min
  • Free
Start with GPS Read about this stop 1
Kaminarimon, the Thunder Gate, with its huge red lantern

The route

Stop by stop

  1. 1 Sensō-ji TempleTokyo's oldest temple worships an image that, according to tradition, came out of two fishermen's net, and that no one has ever seen.
  2. 2 Sōgen-ji, the kappa templeThe grave of a merchant who, legend says, was helped by the river kappa to dig a canal.
  3. 3 Kappabashi, the chefs' streetA golden kappa watches over the street where Japan buys its knives, its lanterns and its plastic food.
  4. 4 The face of the Great Buddha of UenoAll that is left of a great bronze Buddha is its face: it lost its head in an earthquake and its body in a war.
  5. 5 Kiyomizu Kannon-dōA miniature copy of a Kyoto temple, where mothers leave dolls and a pine tree forms a moon.
  6. 6 Bentendō on Shinobazu PondA man-made island for the goddess of music and water, surrounded by memorials to knives and spectacles.

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Start with GPS

Guide mode

Walk it with GPS.

Open guide mode on your phone: you’ll see your position and the distance to each stop, and we’ll let you know when you arrive. Then read or listen.

Start with GPS

  1. Turn on your location

  2. Walk to the spot

  3. Check the photo and listen

What you’ll discover

Kappa, a bodiless Buddha and hidden gods: Tokyo's legends

Legends with an address

Every tale is tied to a temple, a statue or a corner you can see with your own eyes.

Record and tradition

We tell apart what is proven from what is told, so you can enjoy the mystery without mistaking it for history.

Creatures of folklore

Kappa, dragons and water goddesses: the Japanese bestiary that still decorates streets and temples.

Keep exploring

More routes in Tokyo

Back to Tokyo
HistoryFrom Edo to Tokyo: bridges, castle walls and an emperor's capital EssentialsFrom Hachikō to the sacred forest: Shibuya, Harajuku and Meiji Jingū