Kawasaki Racecourse

A large temple dedicated to famed monk and scholar Kobo Daishi (see Mt. Koya). Featuring an 8-sided, 5-storied pagoda and more large temple buildings than you can shake a stick at, Kawasaki Daishi is a textbook example of a Japanese temple and remarkable primarily for the fact that on a weekday you can pretty much have the place to yourself. Easily reached on foot from Kawasaki Daishi station, a 10-minute stroll through a shopping arcade. Being one of the largest temples in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, this place is phenomenally popular as a place for locals to pray in the New Year at midnight.

A quiet Shinto shrine that would be indistinguishable from your average neighborhood shrine if not for one thing: this happens to be one of Japan's few remaining fertility shrines, and the deity venerated here assumes the form of a meter-long iron phallus, known as Kanamara-sama (金まら様, lit. "Iron Big Penis Lord"). There are a number of stories behind this, and while the most entertaining one is certainly the official legend (see box), the more likely explanation seems that prostitutes from nearby brothels — still a large industry in Kawasaki — used to pray here for protection. To get to the shrine, take the only exit from Kawasaki Daishi station, cross the intersection and follow the road that branches off second from the right. There is a hospital on the corner visible from the station, and the shrine is just beyond it. It inexplicably shares its grounds with a kindergarten. Definitely best visited during festival time (see Do).

The large grounds display over twenty traditional Japanese houses (and the gate of Nagoya castle), dating from the late 17th to early 20th century and transplanted from around the country. Rarely crowded. See website for free English guided tour (reservation needed).