Gōtokuji Temple

The most beautiful temple we visited in Japan We visited Gotokuji Temple, the famous “cat temple,” in late autumn and it instantly became our favourite temple site of the entire trip. The grounds were stunning — maple trees blazing in red, orange, and gold, leaves drifting down through the wooden gates. I even captured a perfect photo of a single maple leaf suspended mid-air in front of the entrance, which sums up just how magical the atmosphere here feels. The train ride out was absolutely worth it — smooth, easy, and a nice escape from the busier parts of Tokyo. Once you arrive, the temple is peaceful, beautifully maintained, and full of small details you notice only when you slow down. And of course, the maneki-neko figurines are a delight to see in person — shelves of lucky cats clustered together, quietly watching over everything. If you’re in Tokyo, especially in autumn, don’t skip Gotokuji. It’s unforgettable, photogenic from every angle, and one of the most rewarding temple visits we’ve ever had.

A sweet place and quiet temple that has as specialty thousands of waving cat statues, big and small. People buy these manekineko cats ("beckoning cats") statues and place them on racks around a special location on the temple grounds. Do pay attention to opening hours of the shop to buy these cats, as we arrived in the second part of the afternoon and the shop had closed at 3pm. Plan about ~1h to visit, as there is not much more to do in the immediate vicinity. But that also makes it a calm temple without big crowds, and it is on the edge of the city. For cat lovers a must-visit!

A quiet and meaningful escape from the busy parts of Tokyo. Gotokuji Temple is a little tricky to get to but well worth the journey. It's famous for its countless maneki-neko statues, but what makes it special is the calm atmosphere and sense of reverence throughout the grounds. It’s not a flashy tourist spot—more of a reflective walk filled with history, tradition, and subtle beauty. Worth visiting if you appreciate culture, photography, and moments of stillness.

Beautiful temple! Loved seeing all the cat statues. It's a bit of a walk to get there, but it is a fairly easy walk to do. We went later on in the afternoon and they were sold out of the small statues for the day, so if that's important to you then I recommend going earlier in the day.

Amazing sights with the thousands of donated Maneki Neko figures in this peaceful temple grounds. I bet this will be beautiful place for cherry blossoms season also. But please understand and be respectful for the fact this is a place of worship. When we went for 初詣　(first prayer of the new year)on the New Year’s Day, of course it was so busy. Around the Maneki Neko statues, people are allowed to take photos but knocking into the figures and breaking (by accident) which is very bad luck, and not respectful. It’s not a Disney land, it’s a temple. Thank you & may you all get blessed by the Maneki Neko 🐈

Great temple to visit if you like cats. The area with the cat statues is quite small, and can be hard to take a decent picture of the statues without someone having a whole photoshoot in front of the tiny area. The incense holder was pretty interesting, they provide the incense and lighters to place the lit incense inside of the sculpture. There’s also a cat train you can take to the temple, which is adorned with cat themed hand straps.

✨ If you’re a cat lover, Gōtoku-ji Temple (豪徳寺) in Setagaya is an absolute must-visit! 🐾 Known as the legendary birthplace of the Maneki-neko (beckoning cat), this peaceful temple sits a little outside central Tokyo — but the trip is totally worth it. 🌿 You’ll find rows and rows of adorable cat statues lined up side by side 🐱🐱🐱, creating a magical scene that’s perfect for photos and memories. 📸✨ You can also buy your own lucky cat charm to take home for good fortune. 🍀 A calm atmosphere, beautiful traditional architecture, and cats everywhere — it’s the perfect hidden gem for anyone who loves history and cuteness combined. 💗🏯🐾

As a cat lover, a visit to Gotokuji Temple was a must for me. With its calm atmosphere, beautiful setting, and cats everywhere, Gotokuji Temple is a hidden gem and the perfect stop for anyone who loves history, culture, and a touch of cuteness. Known as the legendary birthplace of the maneki-neko (beckoning cat), this peaceful temple sits just outside of central Tokyo. Getting there by train was easy, followed by a lovely walk through a quiet residential neighborhood dotted with small shops and a laid-back atmosphere that’s a welcome escape from the busier parts of Tokyo.

Worth the travel for the cute lucky cats! A Buddhist temple that takes some travel time to get to from the main city but so well worth the visit! It's about a 15 minute walk from Gotokuji station from the Odakyu line, and you walk through quiet neighbourhoods to get there. The lucky cat, Manekineko is just a part of the temple but there's also the Gotokuji temple and shrines all around. Be careful when you take pictures with the abundance of white cat statues, as I witnessed so many of them being knocked over by careless tourists. You can purchase a lucky cat at their store and it's limited to one per person. It's said to make your wish with your lucky cat while at the temple, bring your cat home and if your wish comes true, you need to bring the cat back to the temple (even if years later). You can best believe that a lucky cat came home with me after this day! Beside the temple is a cemetery. The temple is large and quiet as there aren't as many tourists here as you'd expect at Japan's other destinations. I enjoyed it, it was very zen and all the shops around this area are Manekineko themed!

Yelp Review 2024 #124: A nice thing to do is visit temples in Japan - it's even better when you can visit super early in the morning avoiding morning rush hour. It's free but you can make a donation by buying one of the maneki-neko (beckoning cat that symbolizes good luck) from the office which ranges in price depending on the size. The smallest one starts at 500yen, the largest one is at 7000yen during the time of writing this review. Seeing all the maneki-Neko in different sizes is definitely a sight to behold. It's not everyday you go to a temple filled with white cat figurines - unless maybe if you live nearby. A visit here takes about 30 minutes to see at the cats. It's not a huge area. Tourists tend to forget this is a temple - dress modestly and be quiet! This is not an amusement park.

Maneki Neko, or in English, beckoning cat. Prior to my travels to Tokyo several years ago, I created a list of places I wanted to see, since I missed out dearly when I lived in Japan many blue moons ago. I was much younger and feared of getting lost as Tokyo can be overwhelming if you don't know the train system. One of those places was Gotokuji Temple (GT). GT is a Buddhist temple that dates back to 1659 with its current name. They are also known as the "cat temple" which is a replica of a Japanese calico cat that is called "maneki neko." These cats are believed to bring good luck to businesses and households which you will often see. There is a Gotokuji Station that also sports the maneki neko as you exit. You need to walk about 15min in the residential area in Setagaya, which is somewhat tricky as you need to walk around just to find the temple's entrance. It was a chilly early spring morning the day I went. With clear blue skies, it was indeed a nice stroll. GT also has no entrance fee to enter and you can leisurely walk around the grounds. I found my way to the maneki neko area where there were 100s or do I dare say a few thousand of them in many sizes. It was a great opportunity to take selfies as I witnessed many people doing so. I also made my way to the souvenir shop as I picked up a handful of maneki neko trinkets and figurines to take back as souvenirs. I was fortunate as Japan hadn't really experienced a huge wave of foreign tourists in March 2023. I was also blessed to have witnessed plum blossoms the day I went. The beautiful blooms were white and shares of fuchsia. Personally I'm not into Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing as I don't care for crowds. So this plum blossom viewing was more up my alley with minimal foot traffic and being able to appreciate Mother Nature. I had such a great first visit where I made my way over to GT in December 2023. This time around there were so many tourists where I found myself not being able to leisurely explore the grounds. I found myself sadly disappointed where they were were all sold out of the maneki neko souvenirs that I was planning to give away to good friends. Sad face. Overall, GT is highly recommended in my to go list while sightseeing in Tokyo. It is also deep in history and a great venue to explore their grounds and absorb what Mother Nature has in store.

The origin of the Maneki Neko... Many do flock over to see the cats little did I know this is the origin of the beloved Maneki Neko. I tell you it's not the easiest access as it's in the midst of a residential area of Setagaya City as we had to take the local train and is somewhat of a walk but once you're there...you just know. It's quite stunning just from the outside and there's a huge plaque that explains it so well the origin in both English and Japanese along with the types of plants that are found here that you're able to enjoy each season as we really enjoyed Momijigari..."the tradition of viewing the red leaves" the Japanese Maple "Momiji" hasn't full transformed red but several has shown it's changes and what a stunning sight to see! Quick info on the plaque states that daimyo Ii Naotaka was saved from being trucked by lightning after returning from hunting when he saw abbot's pet cat beckoning him to the temple now known as Gotokuji. Be humble and give this stunning place a visit... どうもありがとうございます！

Who doesn't need a little money luck? I love the story behind this little good fortune cat. We took a taxi from Tokyo as this temple was pretty far from our hotel by train. The temple is pretty and there are tons of the cats everywhere. You can also purchase one for luck. Due to a shortage, there was a limit of one cat per person.

Gotokuji - The Lucky Cat - Temple was our first stop in a one week tour of Tokyo. We arrived via the (C) Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line then walked about a half mile or so to the temple gate. As you follow the path into the temple area you can get a incense stick from a box on the path, light it (a light will be there to) and place into an large incense burner for such offerings in the middle of the path. Further on you will come onto a small building and to the left and behind you will see the lengthy shelves of lucky cat statue offering's visitors have placed. To the right of this as you continue there is a building where you can buy your own lucky cat statues to place as an offering and or take home. We did both and wrote the name of a loved one on the small one we left behind.

猫好きなら是非是非このお寺に行って欲しい。小田急線の豪徳寺から歩いて十五分弱で、簡単に行くことも出来るし、世田谷線で一つ乗っても良いかも。 時期が初詣の時期、お正月だったので参拝で賑わっていました。 正面右側に社務所があって、招き猫のエコバッグ、大小様々な大きさの招き猫も売っています。注意書きには、境内で買った招き猫にお願いを書いて置いていくのは辞めてくださいってありますが、ほぼ皆さん猫に何か書いて境内の空いているところに猫を設置していました。沢山の招き猫に囲まれた観音様や、お堂は一見の価値があります。 インスタグラムなのでも有名なためか、外国人の方々も沢山お参りにきていました。

This temple is definetly worth the visit!! Yes it's a bit out of the way & somewhat of a walk from the Gotokuji station from the Odakyu line - but I assure you it's well worth the time! This is probably one of my favorite temples out of all of the ones I have seen during my visit. It's small & simple. & when you're visiting, be sure to purchase a neko omamori - every shrine/temple has unique designs & who can't resist a cat omamori? Also the ema boards are pretty too - I was a bit greedy & didn't write anything on it, rather I just took it with me because it was just too cool looking. Anyways if you're visiting, be sure to stop here! Note: I didn't get the chance to ever check in via Yelp (I see the spelling is slightly different on here), so I provided a photo as evidence I was actually there.

This temple is known for both Manekineko and Samurai li's grave. There were many Manekineko in the temple. These were the same faces, but different sizes. It was one of the most fantastic scenery that I have seen in my life. Once upon a time, when Naotaka Ii who is the second Feudal lord in Hikone-Han went hunting and came back on his way, he found a cat which put its right paw in front of the temple. He thought that the cat was inviting him, so he decided to stop by for a while. Then, It suddenly rained heavily. He thought that the cat helped him to not get wet. He loved the cat and the temple. His family grave has been there for generations. The origin of Hikonyan which is a character of Hikone city in Shiga prefecture is this temple.