Tokyo · Shiba / HamamatsuchoNo.264★★★Open in map →
Zojo-ji Temple
A major Jodo Buddhist temple in Minato, Tokyo, with the oldest wooden gate in the city (1622, currently under restoration until 2032) and the mausoleum of six Tokugawa shoguns. Tokyo Tower stands directly behind the main hall.
Zojo-ji is a Buddhist temple of the Jodo sect in the Shiba district of Minato ward, Tokyo. The temple was founded in 1393 and moved to its present site in 1598, when Tokugawa Ieyasu selected it as the Tokugawa family temple ahead of his establishment of the Edo shogunate in 1603. The temple prospered under successive shoguns and grew to hold 48 sub-temples and some 150 other buildings. Most of those structures were lost in the Allied bombing of 1945. The three-storey Sangedatsumon gate, built in 1622, survived — it is registered as an Important Cultural Property and is, according to multiple official and tourism sources, the oldest wooden structure still standing in Tokyo. Note: the gate is currently undergoing a ten-year restoration (began April 2025, due for completion November 2032) and is covered in scaffolding; visitors can still walk through the gate to reach the main hall. Behind the main hall, the mausoleum of six of the fifteen Tokugawa shoguns is preserved on the temple grounds.
Background & history
Zojo-ji had deep political significance from the start of the Edo period: Tokugawa Ieyasu chose it as the ancestral temple of his house, and the second, sixth, seventh, ninth, twelfth and fourteenth shoguns are buried here. The mausoleums are designated Important Cultural Properties. The temple suffered heavily in the 1923 Kanto earthquake and again in the 1945 air raids; the main hall was rebuilt in 1974, preserving the pre-war design.
What to look for — in walking order
- Sangedatsumon gate (1622) — under restoration until 2032
- three-storey gate, 21 m tall; the oldest wooden structure in Tokyo; Important Cultural Property; currently covered in scaffolding for a ten-year restoration (April 2025–November 2032) but passable
- Main hall (Daiden) with Tokyo Tower behind
- the 1974 main hall framed by Tokyo Tower's red lattice directly to the north — the view Zojo-ji is famous for
- Tokugawa mausoleum
- the tomb garden of six shoguns at the rear of the grounds; admission charged separately
- Jizo memorial garden
- rows of small stone Jizo figures in red hats — a solemn and visually striking corner of the grounds
How to enjoy it
Enter through the Sangedatsumon (currently under restoration scaffolding but open to pass through) and walk straight to the main hall to see Tokyo Tower framed directly over the roof. The Tokyo Tower view is best from the forecourt of the main hall on a clear day. The Jizo memorial garden — dozens of small stone figures each wearing a red knitted cap — is to the east of the main hall and a quiet, striking part of the grounds. The mausoleum behind the main hall requires a separate entry ticket.
How to actually get there
- JR Yamanote Line to Hamamatsucho Station (North Exit)
- Walk west along Daimon-dori about 5 minutes to the Sangedatsumon gate
- Enter through Sangedatsumon → main hall forecourt → Tokyo Tower view → Jizo garden
- Hamamatsucho Stn (JR Yamanote Line) → walk ~5 min
- Take the JR Yamanote Line to Hamamatsucho Station (served frequently from Shinjuku: about 15 min; from Tokyo Station: about 5 min). From the North Exit, walk west about 5 minutes along Daimon-dori to the Sangedatsumon gate. Toei Mita Line and Asakusa Line also stop at Daimon Station, a 2-minute walk from the gate.
- Return to Hamamatsucho or Daimon station
- Walk back east about 5 minutes to Hamamatsucho Station (JR Yamanote Line), or 2 minutes to Daimon Station (Toei Mita and Asakusa lines). Both hubs run frequently all day.
Before you go
- Cash
- Admission to the temple grounds and Sangedatsumon is free. The Tokugawa mausoleum charges a separate entry fee (mausoleum alone 500 yen, museum alone 700 yen, combined 1,000 yen — confirm at the temple gate). IC transit cards work on all connecting lines.
- Closing days
- The outer grounds are open at all times; the mausoleum has set visiting hours (10:00–16:00, last entry 15:45). Tokyo Tower, which provides the famous backdrop view, has its own opening hours and admission if you wish to go up.
- Another way
- Daimon Station (Toei Mita and Asakusa lines), a 2-minute walk from the Sangedatsumon gate, is often the most convenient option from Ginza or Asakusa.
- After you get off
- From Hamamatsucho Station North Exit, walk west along Daimon-dori about 5 minutes to the Sangedatsumon gate.