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Gotokuji Temple Tour: Discover Manekineko Figurines
4.9
16 Ratings
Setagaya City
Discover Gotokuji’s lucky cats on a private tour. Explore historic temples, savor local cuisine, and stroll through charming shopping districts.
Discover Gotokuji’s lucky cats on a private tour. Explore historic temples, savor local cuisine, and stroll through charming shopping districts.
Duration:
3 hours, 30 minutes
Cancellation:
24 hours
Highlights
- Shoin Shrine - Shoin Shrine: A shrine dedicated to Shoin Yoshida who was an educator and philosopher in the 19th century. There are stone lanterns and a stage for playing music to the gods. Feel the holy atmosphere.
- Shōin Shrine Avenue Shōei-kai Shopping Street Promotion Union - Shoin Shrine Street shopping district: A shopping district with…
- Shoin Shrine - Shoin Shrine: A shrine dedicated to Shoin Yoshida who was an educator and philosopher in the 19th century. There are stone lanterns and a stage for playing music to the gods. Feel the holy atmosphere.
- Shōin Shrine Avenue Shōei-kai Shopping Street Promotion Union - Shoin Shrine Street shopping district: A shopping district with long-established shops and some with interesting items - full of shops you want to drop-in and visit.
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Site of Setagaya Daikan’s Residence - Setagaya Daikanyashiki: A Japanese traditional mansion of a clan who ruled the area in the Edo era (1700~1900 AD).
You will feel as if you’ve gone back in time and are visiting a Japanese person’s home because the place has been kept as an upper-class residence! - Setagaya Local History Museum - Setagaya Local History Museum: Let’s learn Setagaya’s history at the museum located next to Setagaya Daikanyashiki. You can learn about literature and paintings from the Edo era, as well as the history of the 500 year old market.
- Gotokuji Temple - Gotokuji temple: Do you know about manekineko (beckoning cat) which is a cat figurine thought to bring good luck and success in business? Gotokuji is the Zen sect temple with a history of 600 years and is said to be the originator of manekineko. In the temple, you will find many manekineko which are dedicated by people whose dreams came true. You may be able to get some luck!
What's Included
- Private Tour
- Necessary expenses for the tour guide
- Tour Guide
- Private Tour
- Necessary expenses for the tour guide
- Tour Guide
What's Not Included
- Estimated Costs of the Tour: 380 JPY per Person
- Breakdown: Transportation: 380 JPY, Admission Fees: 0 JPY, Meal costs: 0 JPY per Person
- Optional Experience Costs: 0 JPY per Person
- Estimated Costs of the Tour: 380 JPY per Person
- Breakdown: Transportation: 380 JPY, Admission Fees: 0 JPY, Meal costs: 0 JPY per Person
- Optional Experience Costs: 0 JPY per Person
Additional Information
Setagaya is a quiet residential area just 3 minutes by tram from central Tokyo. Recently, it has become a popular tourist destination on social media for its photogenic spots.
Gotokuji is home to numerous Manekineko figurines, which are quite rare in Japan. We will guide you through Gotokuji Temple and other cultural sites tied to its history. Manekineko…
Setagaya is a quiet residential area just 3 minutes by tram from central Tokyo. Recently, it has become a popular tourist destination on social media for its photogenic spots.
Gotokuji is home to numerous Manekineko figurines, which are quite rare in Japan. We will guide you through Gotokuji Temple and other cultural sites tied to its history. Manekineko figurines are traditional symbols believed to bring happiness and luck. If you’re fortunate, you might even spot real cats at the temple! Besides the temple, you can also explore other historical sites and savor local cuisines. Enjoy the charming atmosphere as you stroll through the shopping district cherished by locals.
- All transportation costs, entrance fees, food and drink costs, etc. incurred at the visited spots, will be borne by the customer.
- Tour finishing spot is different from starting spot. Please let your tour guide know if you would like to change the finishing spot.
- Please understand that tour spots might be changed to alternative spots in case of temporary closure.
- Some of the spots we will visit on the day do not accept credit cards. Please remember to bring cash.
- Lunch is not included in this tour.
- If the weather is bad on the day, there is a possibility that the means of transportation, destinations, and routes may be changed.
Location
Sangenjaya Station
Denentochi Line Sangen-Jaya, in front of the central exit
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.9
(16 Ratings)
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H6953ptpeterp
Sep 28, 2025
Nice and sweet - Very kind guide. Yoriko speaks English well and is super sweet. We had a bit of a hurry and had to go a bit earlier then we had planed, and she was fully understandable of that. Great trip
Review provided by Tripadvisor
J4357cglisab
Sep 28, 2025
Guidet trip - We had a very nice guided tour with Yoriko. She had a lot of knowledge about both modern and ancient Japanese history, and also spoke good English. I highly recommend Yoriko.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
A4973rujeffg
Sep 3, 2025
Kei cats temple tour - Kei did a great job. He is very friendly and knowledgable. We were very grateful he spoke english well!
He is a great tour guide and knows his way around. He was very helpful with us for using transit! Really enjoyed the tour!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Nandhu108
Aug 12, 2025
Gotukoji temple and the temples around Setagaya . - A tour we were looking forward to as a family and it did not disappoint . It was one of our best tours .
Kaori San, our amazing guide made the day for us . She was so friendly and knowledgeable. She took the most amazing photos of us , and was very patient with us as we stopped and took a million pictures :)
I would highly recommend picking this tour to see a totally different side to Tokyo away from neon lights and tall buildings :) !!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Oliposa
Jul 9, 2025
Maneki neko with Ms. Kaori - Private Tour - It was so nice to get away from the hustle of Tokyo for a couple of hours and go on this tour. Our guide Ms. KAORI was amazing! I loved having the private tour with her as it makes it easier to ask questions and get one on one conversation. We also got to talk about Ohtani lol. We had my 11 year old son with us and it was extremely hot and humid this day but she made sure we were hydrated and had snacks. We got lucky and got to ride the maneki neko train at our Setagaya Line stop. We also had luck at the Daikan Residence and got to go inside the traditional Japanese home. My son said the highlight was when Ms. Kaori made the stop at the Shaved Iced shop. Arigato gozaimasu Ms. Kaori! I would highly recommend.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
532shaya
Jun 2, 2025
A well informed guide makes for a joyful tour - Being able to go on this tour and using local public transport was quite nice.
It gave it a more intimate feel, and being able to take some time to look at a few things on the way to our different locations gave me ease of mind.
Our tour guide was delightful, though I do wish I had recorded his name, as I would like to mention him personally.
Starting at Senganjaya station, he first helped us purchase our tram tickets, which were special prints due to an event at the time we were visiting, so we were able to have them as keepsakes.
I was able to ask many questions about the local area during transit to our first stop.
He first spoke about the 2 main religions in Japan, and let us know how to tell the difference between the Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. He walked us through the rituals for entry and cleansing and was able to translate the information about the shrine. He explained the rivalry between Shoin Yoshida and Il Naosuke, and their amusingly close burial sites, which link the locations we were visiting.
While this was by no means a rural location, it was still pleasant to see a bit further away from the centre of Tokyo.
We were guided through to the Setagaya Local History Museum, where our guide explained further about the "black ships" that arrived, the political struggles between the shogunate and their followers, the end of the Edo Period, Japan's Isolation, and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration.
Our final stop was Gotokuji Temple. Our guide explained that the smoke from the incense in the bowl was a way to purify oneself, as well as to become aligned with their spirit and soul. There were quite a lot of people there to observe the number of maneki-neko placed around the temple. He also pointed out a few hidden ones, which were quite amusing.
I feel a lot more informed and appreciate the spiritual side of Japan more, thanks to our guide's knowledge.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Carrie_o
Mar 20, 2025
Really fun and... - Really fun and interesting tour outside of the typical Tokyo neighborhoods. We missed one of our stops due to the holiday (local museum) - that was a bummer and unfortunate that our guide wasn’t told prior to the trip so we walked there only for it to be closed.
Review provided by Viator
Venture32895887290
May 10, 2023
Gotokuji tour - My tour guide Shizuko is best. She is knowledgeable about all the shrines and is great at making conversations. The shrines were serene and beautiful. The manenekos were cute!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Darcy_c
Apr 15, 2023
Great Walking Tour! - We had an amazing time. My ten year old was riveted by our lovely guide - not an easy task. We sincerely enjoyed all parts of our tour.
Review provided by Viator
B_rgep555
Sep 28, 2025
Personality - Helpful and sweet guide. We enjoy the trip.
Pleasant and helpful guide, Yoriko is a pleasant well-adult lady who possesses a lot of historical knowledge.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
