Meiji Jingu
Imperial Shrine Dedicated To Emperor Meiji And Empress Shoken · Tokyo, Tokyo
Tokyo's great Shinto shrine, dedicated to the spirits of Emperor Meiji, who opened Japan to the modern world, and his wife Empress Shoken, set in a man-made forest of about a hundred thousand trees beside the busy streets of Harajuku and Shibuya. The shrine was completed in 1920; it was destroyed in the air raids of 1945 and rebuilt in 1958. The forest, planted with trees donated from all over Japan, has grown into a dense woodland that feels far from the city. The approach passes under giant torii gates, one of the largest wooden torii in Japan, and past walls of sake barrels given as offerings, facing a row of French wine barrels. The main hall is in the plain Shinto style of cypress with a copper roof. Traditional weddings often process through the courtyard, and at New Year the shrine receives more visitors than any other in Japan, over three million in the first days. Within the grounds, the Meiji Jingu Gyoen inner garden has an iris garden and a well, and the Meiji Jingu Museum shows imperial treasures. Takeshita-dori and Omotesando are steps away.
1-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya City, Tokyo, Tokyo, 151-8557, Japan
NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED - CONFIRM BEFORE GOING. The typical pattern: the shrine grounds open at sunrise and close at sunset every day of the year, with the times changing month by month, roughly 5am to 6:30pm in midsummer and about 6:40am to 4pm in midwinter. The inner garden and the museum keep shorter daytime hours, with last entry about 30 minutes before closing, and may close on some weekdays. The traps: arriving after sunset in winter to find the torii closed, New Year crowds that turn the approach into an hour's queue, and typhoon closures of the forest. Confirm times before relying on them.