Meiji Jingu

Meiji Jingu is a serene Shinto shrine nestled in a lush forested park in Tokyo, offering a peaceful escape from the city's hustle. We visited early in the morning to avoid the crowds, and it was an incredibly tranquil experience. The park is beautifully maintained, with wide paths and towering trees creating a calming atmosphere, making it one of the best parks in Tokyo for a relaxing stroll. The shrine itself is impressive, and while the amulet store only opens at 9:00 a.m., the early visit allowed us to fully enjoy the peaceful surroundings.

Shrine dedicated to the past Meiji emperor. Vast area of tree (feels like a park) in heart of Tokyo. It’s like Central Park in New York, it will always amaze me that the city is able to preserve such a large space to so much trees and plantations. It feels great just walking on the path way to the shrine. There is a lot of tourist, of course, and a lot of Japanese people visiting. If you plan on getting the gojyuin (temple/shrine stamp) then expect to wait about 15 min for the line up.

Definitely worth a visit. The walk in is definitely not short but it was really therapeutic with the lush trees and birds chirping away. Once you get to the shrine you're greeted with a magnificent sight of the architecture of a traditional shrine. I'd highly recommend heading out each of the exits of the shrine just to take a look at the walking paths. I visited during Golden Week and it was not as crowded as I had expected. And given the crowd, I am glad that there were no squeezing around to get through to anywhere. The place is also litter free which is very much appreciated.

Really quiet and peaceful place to honour Shintō, surrounded by vegetation and wonderful doors. The woodworkers who built this were and are pretty skilled. That's an amazing and free experience. Take the time to give a bit of money to maintain the place 💕

While Meiji Shrine is one of the most famous attractions in Japan, it is far less well known that the grounds is is covered by an evergreen forest consisting of 120,000 trees of 365 different species, donated by people from all parts of Japan when the shrine was established. We have been living in Tokyo for many years but had never explored the area until now. It was a perfect retreat from the hot summer. There even weren't so many people in the forest, despite it being in the middle of the city center. Highly recommended for an afternoon visit.