Naritasan Shinsho-ji

Naritasan Shinsho-ji tickets and tours: which one to book

Entry to Naritasan Shinsho-ji is free, and the grounds, the halls and the park behind them can all be visited without a ticket. That makes the temple one of the most popular short outings for travellers passing through Narita International Airport, which lies only a few minutes away by train. The organised option is a layover tour that collects you at the airport, takes you into Narita town by train or car, walks you along the old approach street and through the temple precinct with an English-speaking guide, and brings you back in time for your onward flight.

These tours usually last four to five hours and include the guide and local transport; snacks along the street and any amulets or prayer offerings are paid separately. They are worth considering if you are nervous about timing or want the Shingon rituals explained. Otherwise it is simple to go independently. Keisei and JR trains run from both airport terminals to Narita in around ten minutes, and the temple is a 15-minute walk from either station along Omotesando, a lane of wooden shops selling grilled eel, rice crackers and sweets. Leave luggage in coin lockers at the station or the airport, and allow a comfortable margin before check-in.

Visiting Naritasan Shinsho-ji: what to see and how to behave

The temple was founded in 940 to enshrine an image of Fudo Myoo, the fierce wisdom king of Shingon Buddhism who holds a sword and a rope and stands against a halo of flames. According to tradition the statue had been brought from Kyoto by the priest Kancho to pray for the end of the revolt of Taira no Masakado, and it refused to be moved once the rebellion was over. The temple grew rich in the Edo period, when the kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro I and his family made pilgrimages to Narita fashionable among the people of Edo. From the end of Omotesando you climb through the Niomon gate of 1830, guarded by two muscular statues, to the broad terrace of the Great Main Hall, rebuilt in 1968.

This is where the goma fire rituals take place several times a day: monks chant and drum while burning wooden prayer sticks before the image of Fudo, and visitors may sit at the back and watch. Nearby stands a slender three-storey pagoda of 1712, brightly painted and carved with dragons and clouds, one of several buildings listed as Important Cultural Properties. Older halls, including the Shaka-do of 1858 and the Komyo-do of 1701, stand on the slope behind. Higher up rises the Great Peace Pagoda, a 58 m structure from 1984 with exhibition rooms inside. Behind it lies Naritasan Park, about 16 hectares of ponds, waterfalls and woodland paths. Photography is not allowed inside the Great Main Hall during ceremonies. Walk quietly, bow at the gates if you wish, and use the incense burner in front of the hall as local visitors do.

Naritasan Shinsho-ji: opening hours, ceremonies and the best time to go

The precinct is open every day from early morning until late afternoon, and the halls stay open throughout; the first goma ritual begins early in the morning and others follow at intervals through the day, so it is easy to time a visit to coincide with one. Check the official site for the current schedule. Weekday mornings are quiet. The first three days of January are the opposite: hatsumode, the New Year visit, brings several million people, and the approach street is packed.

Setsubun in early February, with celebrities throwing beans from a stage, is another crowded day, as are the temple fairs on the 1st, 15th and 28th of each month. The park is lovely during plum blossom in late February and early March and for autumn colour in late November. Allow two to three hours including the walk along Omotesando and a meal of eel. With a longer layover you could add the Boso no Mura open-air museum or simply rest in the park before heading back to the airport.