Arai Yakushi is a Shingon Buddhist temple founded in 1586, dedicated to the Healing Buddha and known for curing eye disease and, by tradition, for helping children grow up healthy. It sits in a quiet grid of residential streets north of Broadway, and its grounds hold a well, a pond and a cherry-lined approach that fills with stalls during the spring festival.
The reason to make the walk is the monthly antique fair, on the first Sunday, when dealers set up blankets and tables in the courtyard with old ceramics, kimono, farm tools, Showa toys and the kind of oddities that end up in the glass cases of Broadway a week later. Combine it with the toy hunt for a full Nakano day.
Tips
- The antique market is held on the first Sunday of each month, from early morning to around 15:00
- The temple is known for healing eye problems; the amulets for eyesight are the thing to buy
- A 15-minute walk north of Nakano Broadway, or two stops on the Seibu Shinjuku line from Takadanobaba