Gōtokuji Temple

Our group of three made a special stop at Gotokuji Temple in Tokyo’s Setagaya Ward during our trip, known as the birthplace of the lucky beckoning cat (maneki-neko). The atmosphere here is serene and sacred, offering a beautiful glimpse into traditional Japanese culture and spiritual tranquility. As soon as we entered the temple grounds, we were greeted by elegant wooden architecture and well-maintained garden paths. The historical three-story pagoda and temple gate added a deep sense of history and character to the surroundings. The most captivating sight was the dedicated area filled with thousands of maneki-neko figurines, all neatly lined up in various sizes with charming expressions. It’s said that placing a maneki-neko here can help your wishes come true or bring good fortune in business—making it a must-visit spot for many. Besides paying our respects, we also purchased small maneki-neko statues as souvenirs and wrote down our wishes to dedicate them at the temple. It felt especially meaningful. The temple also offers a variety of omamori (charms) and goshuin (temple stamps), all beautifully designed and worth collecting. The visit route is easy to follow, with a calm number of visitors, allowing for a peaceful and reflective experience. If you’re visiting Tokyo, we highly recommend spending a quiet morning at Gotokuji Temple. Not only will you experience the beauty of traditional Japanese temple architecture, but you’ll also leave with a heart full of good luck and positive energy.

Get a train to the local Gotokuji Train Station and walk 10-1 minutes and you will arrive at your destination. The temple is a collection of smaller temples, pagoda and cemeteries around a tree covered area in the middle of suburbia. There is the very famous cat shrine, this does generate a high level of tourism to the shrine. Compared to the online videos making it look like a large temple, it is all rather small. Worth a look.

As a cat lover, this temple was one of my favorite places to visit in the Tokyo area. Settled in a quiet suburb away from the bustling city, lies this lovely feline covered temple with such a beautiful backstory. Make sure to get there early enough to purchase your cat since they do sell out. And check out the local shops in the area for treats and trinkets 🐈

Lovely and calm place. You can buy different sizes cat figurine and leave it at the temple, for a good fortune or a wish. Nice ladies at the counter will sell you figurines. Cemetery next to it is beautiful, full with history and well kept monuments.

As a tourist from Canada, I had to visit Gotokuji Temple after hearing about its connection to the maneki-neko (beckoning cat). It’s a bit off the beaten path in a quiet Tokyo neighborhood, but totally worth it. The temple itself is beautiful and peaceful, with traditional wooden buildings, a pagoda, and well-kept gardens. The highlight, of course, is the sea of lucky cat figurines left by visitors hoping for good fortune. Seeing hundreds of them lined up, all with one paw raised, was both surreal and charming. You can even buy your own maneki-neko at the small shop and leave it at the shrine as an offering. It wasn’t too crowded when I went, but there was definitely at least a 10 minute wait. If you love cats or just want a unique temple experience, Gotokuji is definitely worth adding to your Tokyo itinerary!

One of the famous temple here in Japan because of the Manekineko. The town itself was very peaceful and there were plenty of tourist. I really liked the peaceful and nature-y vibes of the place. The air is very fresh. The ceramic cats were very cute. The smallest one that you can buy is around 500 yen. It is also my first time buying omikuji. It was a fun experience.

Beautiful temple, a must-visit, especially if you are fond of cats. The story behind it is also very heartwarming. The temple was quite crowded when we visited it (around 11 AM). I guess it is better to go there very early, when it opens. The line to buy a cat statue was also very long, where only one was sold per person.

**Maneki-neko Legend** The temple is linked to the origin story of the **beckoning cat**: - A poor monk shared scraps with his cat, Tama. One day, a samurai lord (possibly Ii Naotaka) took shelter under a tree during a storm after the cat appeared to beckon him. Grateful for the temple’s hospitality, the lord became its patron, bringing wealth. After death, Tama was honored with maneki-neko statues, now symbols of good fortune. ### **Features** - **Maneki-neko Displays**: Thousands of cat figurines donated by visitors, often in white (purity) or gold (wealth), line the temple grounds. - **Architecture**: Traditional Zen structures, including a main hall (*hondō*), bell tower, and pagoda. - **Cemetery**: Graves of the Ii family, including Naosuke’s tranquil resting place. - **Charm Sales**: The temple sells lucky charms (*omamori*) and maneki-neko figures for visitors. ### **Visitor Information** - **Access**: 5-minute walk from Gotokuji Station (Odakyu Odawara Line). - **Atmosphere**: Quiet and less touristy, offering a peaceful retreat with lush greenery. - **Events**: Annual memorial services for Ii Naosuke and occasional cultural festivals. Gōtokuji Temple beautifully blends history, spirituality, and folklore, making it a unique destination for both cultural enthusiasts and those seeking blessings of good luck. 🐾

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.