A five-minute walk uphill from the electronics shops, Kanda Myojin has guarded the merchants of Edo since 1616, and it adopted the new neighbourhood with unusual grace. It enshrines Daikokuten, Ebisu and the rebel Taira no Masakado, and its vermilion halls, rebuilt in concrete after the 1923 earthquake, survived the war intact. Tech companies bring their servers’ blessings here each January, and anime collaborations fill the wooden votive plaques with painted characters.
Come in the late afternoon when the office workers have gone and the lanterns light up. Enter by the ornate Zuishinmon gate, then wander behind the main hall to the smaller shrines and the EDOCCO cultural hall with its café.
Tips
- Buy the IT safety charm, a sticker-style amulet for laptops and phones that the shrine sells with a straight face
- The Kanda Matsuri in mid-May of odd-numbered years is one of the three great Edo festivals and fills the streets with portable shrines
- Amazake and sweet bean soup at Amanoya, the shop by the gate, are the traditional post-visit snack