The roof of the gilded shrine building at Ueno Toshogu is also a resting place for pigeons

Most of the people who come to the Karamon gate without interruption stop once in front of the gate to take pictures. Since we don't often see huge gold leaf in our daily lives, the sight of the Karamon gate at Ueno Toshogu Shrine, with its doors covered with gold leaf, seems to overwhelm them and they can't help but take pictures.

For better or worse, many people are attracted to the gilded Karamon gate, but surprisingly few are attracted to the shrine buildings beyond the Karamon gate. It is true that the shrine pavilions, unlike the Karamon, can only be seen by paying an admission fee, but few people are willing to pay the fee to enter the Sukibei wall and see the shrine pavilions of Toshogu. Even though they are equally shiny and gold.

After paying the entrance fee and stepping past the large camphor tree, I entered the Sukibei wall and found a very quiet space, a far cry from the bustling Karamon gate. I looked at the shrine in silence. As the Karamon gate was covered with gold leaf, the shrine hall, built in 1651, also had a lot of gold leaf.

People are not allowed to visit the temple without paying an entrance fee, so those who are satisfied with just admiring the Karamon will not pay the fee to enter the Sukibei wall. Pigeons, on the other hand, are free to fly, and they can linger around the shrine as long as they like, as the Sukibei wall that stands between the space where they can enter for free and the space where they have to pay is helpless. When I visited, there was some pigeons perched on top of the shrine building.

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