Monzen-machi, the Japanese temple town

Similar to the towns developed around castles, there are towns in Japan developed around the large temples or shrines. Called monzen-machi "temple towns", they developed during the Edo Period, when pilgrimage became popular in Japan and were originally created to cater for pilgrims: restaurants, inns, local product stores.

A very good place to experience a traditional monzen-machi is close to Tokyo, in Narita, Chiba Prefecture, where the street between the train stations and the Naritasan Temple preserves the charm of the old temple town...