I have been visiting Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya City for walks over the past decade (and have written about the temple many times on this blog).
I visited the temple several times in October. On Oct. 15th, the sky was clear and I enjoyed the weather.
The temple’s main spots to visit have remained unchanged for over a decade. They include the Buddha Hall, the three-story pagoda, beautiful gardens, and thousands of lucky-cat (maneki-neko) figurines dedicated by visitors,
On the other hand, there have been notable changes. The number of international tourists has been significantly increased. During my visit today, there were, in fact, more foreign visitors than Japanese people in the temple.
I found another recent change. More visitors are now leaving photographs of their own beloved cats alongside the lucky-cat figurines.
In the temple’s souvenir area, a self-service vending machine that accepts card payments has been installed. They accepted only cash a decade ago.
In the shopping street connecting the temple to the nearest train station, the number of shops selling lucky-cat-related goods has been increasing year by year.
It is interesting to observe what has changed and what has remained the same at Gotokuji Temple and in its surrounding area.
