Suzumushi-dera

鈴虫寺

"Suzumushi-dera" means "cricket temple", and as you might guess, there is a large case of crickets all along the wall inside the temple. Ever since the temple was featured on the NHK, Japan's national television station, it has received quite large crowds of people waiting to enter, but don't let the crowds scare you away. The purpose is to enjoy the crickets chirping, so upon entering, visitors are treated to tea, a snack, and a speech by one of the temple's priests (in Japanese, of course) lasting roughly 20 minutes. He talks about the crickets and makes a shameless plug for the charms sold at the temple and then the next group is allowed in. The temple seats a large number of people, so even those waiting on the steps should be able to get in for the next session. In order to keep the crickets chirping, they have to keep the temple warm, making it great for winter travellers.

• history

Website

suzutera.or.jp (opens in a new tab)