hiro's report on Japan: Jindaiji Temple in Chofu, a city of western Tokyo

Soba restaurants along the street

Main hall of Jindaiji Temple

Some of my guests want to skip the highlights of Tokyo, such as the Imperial Palace, Asakusa Sensoji Temple and Meiji Shrine, and see local and interesting places their guide books don't cover. Jindaiji is almost the perfect place to go. My guests were very pleased with the temple and the area around it.
The 1,200 year old Buddhist temple is 20 minutes by train and 15 minutes by bus away from Shinjuku, and is popular among pilgrims. After visiting the temple tourists often enjoy going to a Japanese soba noodle restaurant but this might be a problem. It's hard to decide which restaurant go to because there are more than 20 along the street in front of the temple.
It was a warm and lovely day on November 12 th when I arranged an excursion to show my guests, Heidi and Glenn from Perth, Australia, around Jindaiji. When I met them at their hotel, Glenn appeared wearing a colorful short-sleeved shirt and rubber sandals with bare feet, I smiled at him and asked him to at least put on a jacket.
He took a lot of photos and Heidi wrote down on the name of the temple, perhaps to show and tell their five grownup children and friends. We really enjoyed the crimson leaves of autumn and, of course, hot soba noodles topped with two deep fried shrimp in a cozy traditional restaurant.