What other travelers are saying about Naritasan Shinshoji Temple, Narita
This is what happens when a Buddhist temple decides to overdeliver for 1,000+ years. It’s grand, immaculately maintained, & visually dialed up to eleven...towering pagodas, dramatic staircases, and interior halls so ornate they feel like they were designed by a committee of monks, artists, and someone who really loves gold leaf.
Inside, it’s cool (spiritually & temperature-wise). The main halls are calm, reverent, and genuinely impressive: fierce guardian statues, vivid murals & enough incense to reset your nervous system. Even if you’re not religious, it’s hard not to feel a sense of awe. This place has presence.
Now the honest part: outside is a furnace. On a hot summer day, the stone courtyards & staircases turn into a slow-roast situation. Shade is scarce. The sun is relentless. You will sweat in places you didn’t know existed. This is not a quick pop-in...it’s a sprawling complex that quietly asks, “How much do you really want enlightenment?”
The adjacent park and gardens are lovely, but again...plan accordingly. Water, a hat, sunscreen, and realistic expectations about your cardio and hydration strategy are non-negotiable.
Come early, move slowly, hydrate aggressively, and you’ll leave enlightened instead of medium-rare. Docking half a star for trying to cook me alive.
The temple is located 8.5 kilometers from Narita International Airport. From the airport, it requires just a 10-minute train ride to Narita Station, making it easily accessible for travelers with layovers. You can reach the temple from either JR Narita Station (one stop from Airport Terminal 2 Station) or Keisei Narita Station. From the station, follow a 10-15 minute walk along the historic Omotesando shopping street, which features over 150 traditional shops and restaurants specializing in grilled eel dishes.
The main temple grounds are open daily with no admission fee. Free tours are available daily from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. While basic access is complimentary, visitors may incur fees for specific activities such as participating in Goma fire rituals, purchasing Goshuin stamp book pages (300 yen each), or joining specialized guided tours. The temple welcomes donations to help maintain and renovate its nationally designated Important Cultural Property buildings.
The Goma Fire Ritual is a thousand-year-old tradition where priests pray before a large fire to help dispel the problems of temple visitors. During this sacred ceremony, monks chant sutras and burn wooden tablets inscribed with visitors' wishes and desires in a purification ritual meant to cleanse unnecessary worldly attachments. The ritual is performed several times daily in the Great Main Hall and visitors are welcome to observe. You can purchase wooden amulets to be included in the ceremony, making it an accessible spiritual experience for both worshippers and tourists.
There are no strict dress code requirements at Naritasan Shinshoji Temple. Visitors should wear comfortable, modest clothing. Shorts, short skirts, and revealing attire aren't prohibited, but more conservative options are recommended to respect the temple's traditional Japanese atmosphere. Visitors are generally allowed to take photographs inside the temple, however, they should avoid using flash and respect any restricted areas or photography rules. Remove your shoes when entering the main hall and perform the purification ritual at the water basin before entering sacred spaces.
The temple attracts over 3 million visitors during the New Year period alone (January 1-3), making it the second most-visited temple in Japan after Meiji Shrine. Major festivals also draw large crowds, including the Setsubun Festival in February featuring sumo wrestlers and celebrities, the taiko drum festival in April with over 200 drummers, and the Narita Gion Matsuri in summer. During festival times and busy seasons, Naritasan Shinshoji Temple can be quite crowded, but off-peak the temple is relatively quiet and serene. Visit early morning or late afternoon on weekdays for a more peaceful experience, especially outside major holiday periods.
Narita-san is a valuable addition to a Japanese travel itinerary in my humble (not so humble, to be honest 😁) opinion. It's proximity to Narita airport means that for many travelers, it will be convenient to visit the temple complex on the way in or out of Japan.
Normally, I would recommend to brush up on the history of a site before visiting but in this case, I don't necessarily think that is wise. I prefer to visit the old town and temple with a sense of wide-eyed wonder and a feeling of sacred mystery. I can always learn the history later, if so inclined.
Supplicant Sinay says:
Of course, Narita-san is great on a warm summer's day but an overcast day, somewhat rainy, or a snowy winter's day, bring the mysterious nature and sacred silence of the temple and ground into an even sharper focus.
Beautiful temple including the surrounding structures like the three-storied pagoda. We visited during a weekday around the golden hour. It was peaceful, with beautiful greens and golds against a deep blue sky.
The gorgeous grounds with many monuments are worth a quiet walk, taking in the settings of sunlit slats of engraved granite lining the deep dark woods. There are many cats that will keep you company during your stroll.
Once back at the entrance walk the cute, windy street lined with shops and eateries. Well worth your visit!
This is a huge place to walk around. It's very interesting and beautiful. I recommend highly, walking there you walk through old Narita with buildings that are hundreds of years old, so cool. Good shopping if you like that, fresh made rice crackers, mochi and all kinds of other Japanese treats.
This was a short Narita layover trip. Once you clear immigration at Narita, you take the Keisei line one stop from the airport to Narita. Then the temple is a 1 mile enjoyable walk from the stations, via the busy and cute Omotesando. The temple complex is beautiful but the temple can get busy at times. Overall very doable, with a few food stops, in about 2 hours from the airport.
