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Meiji Shrine Tokyo (Pictured Story)

Florian Buechting Places & Sights No Comments

A visit to Japan would just not be complete without digging into the religion and visiting some temples and shrines. One of the most famous of these places in Tokyo is the Meiji Shrine. I take you there in my Pictured Story. Interestingly, we ran into a sumo ceremony during our visit.

 

Meiji Shrine – Location & Admission

The Meiji Shrine is located in a large park in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. The easiest way to get there is taking a train to Harajuku Station, which is served by the Yamanote Line. If you prefer metro / subway services, e.g. because you are traveling on the Greater Tokyo Pass, you may also go to Meiji-jingumae ‘Harajuku’ Station, which is served by Chiyoda Line and Fukutoshin Line. In the area around these two stations, there are also a couple of stores and a few museums and exhibitions. A relaxed walk takes you in some 10 to 15 minutes from the station to the shrine.

 

The opening times of Meiji Shrine differ by month and roughly represent dusk til dawn. For example in January, you can visit the park and the shrine between 6:40 and 16:20, while in June, opening times are 5:00 to 18:30. A visit is possible at any workday. Admission to the grounds is free. There is a museum (which was closed during our visit on a Thursday) and the garden. The Meiji Jingu Inner Garden requires an admission of 500 JPY, roughly 3 Euro. All throughout the park, there are signs in English as well.

 

Impressions from Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine is a Shinto Shrine. After the death of Emperor Meiji in 1912, the construction of the shrine kicked off in 1915 and finished in 1920. The park around the shrine is huge. The size is 70 hectares it features 120,000 trees of more than 300 species. One reasonf or that variety is a major part of them are donations by Japanese citizens. Apart from the shrine, the area is also very popular just for recreation. Right after you left Harajuku Station, you walk through the Ichino Torii Gate, followed by the Sacred Bridge. Rather early at your visit (if you used Japanese Rail), you also pass a collection of sake and Western wine barrels.

After strolling through the forest, the Nino Torii gate leads you the way to the shrine. You reach it through the South Gate. Due to the ceremony, I was a bit limited in taking photos. However, I feel that the pictures nonetheless give you a nice impression. We exited the part at its Northwest end, as we connected to the Odakyu Line at Sangubashi Station.

 

 

Meiji Jingu Inner Garden – Impressions

As stated above, the inner garden of the area does require a small admission. I would definitely say it is worth it. The park is very peaceful and come with beautiful nature. You may either follow the signed round-route walk or explore the park on your own. The admission desk is offering maps, there are also some maps within the park. The garden is built around a major pond. There is a variety of different areas. Some are rather forest-alike, others have rather large lawn areas. This also leads to a variety of vegetation and wildlife.

It is really lovely to explore all the plants, spot the bird or the fish in the pond or simply relax at Meiji Jingu Inner Garden. The garden even has a tea house. In addition, there are a couple of other facilities. I would recommend to plan with one hour for the inner garden plus about an hour for the park, the shrine and strolling around. If you do both, you may do it in 90 minutes in some hurry as well.

 

Tokyo on Flyctory.com

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