Tokyo · Yoyogi / HarajukuNo.135★★★Open in map →
Meiji Jingu
— a Tokyo shrine, calm at dawn
Meiji Jingu is a major Shinto shrine set inside about 700,000 square metres of planted woodland in the heart of Tokyo. It opens at sunrise, and the north approach from Kita-sando Station is the calmest way in.
Meiji Jingu sits inside a large planted forest a short walk from the crowds of Harajuku. The forest is entirely man-made: around 100,000 trees, donated from across Japan and beyond, were planted when the shrine was built, and the planting was designed so the woodland would grow and renew itself without human care over the following century. The shrine opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, so its hours shift month by month. Most visitors enter from the south at Harajuku Station; the north approach from Kita-sando Station (also near Yoyogi Station) is a noticeably quieter route to the same main buildings, used mainly by local runners and early worshippers.
Background & history
The shrine was completed in 1920 and is dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. Its forest was planted by roughly 110,000 volunteers using more than 350 species of trees, chosen so the woodland would look natural and sustain itself over a century. Entry to the grounds is free, and they are open every day of the year.
What to look for — in walking order
- North torii gate (Kita-sando entrance)
- the quiet entrance about a 5-minute walk from Kita-sando Station and near Yoyogi Station
- Gravel forest path
- the roughly 10-minute walk through 100,000 donated trees to reach the main shrine buildings
- The great torii
- the largest wooden myojin-style torii in Japan, cut from a Japanese cypress said to be around 1,500 years old
- Main shrine buildings
- the honsha (main shrine) at the end of the approach, where worshippers come to pray
How to enjoy it
Come soon after opening and enter from the north at Kita-sando Station to walk the gravel path while it is still quiet. Opening time follows the sunrise, so check the current month's hours on the shrine's official website first. The walk through the forest to the main buildings takes about ten minutes. On Coming-of-Age Day (the second Monday of January) the shrine is very crowded — any other morning is calmer.
How to actually get there
- Shinjuku Station → Shinjuku-sanchome Station (underground passage on foot, ~5 min)
- Shinjuku-sanchome Station → Kita-sando Station (Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, ~2 min, 1 stop)
- Kita-sando Station Exit 3 → north (Yoyogi-side) gate of Meiji Jingu (walk, ~5 min)
- North gate → main shrine buildings (walk along the gravel path, ~10 min)
- Shinjuku Stn →(walk + Fukutoshin Line)→ Kita-sando Stn
- From Shinjuku Station, walk through the underground passage to Shinjuku-sanchome Station (~5 min). Take the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line one stop to Kita-sando Station (~2 min). Leave by Exit 3 (Exit 1 has no escalator) and walk about 5 minutes to the north (Yoyogi-side) gate. Total ~15 min. Trains run every few minutes, so no need to check a timetable.
- Return from Kita-sando Station any time
- Go back to Kita-sando Station and take the Fukutoshin Line toward Shinjuku-sanchome, or walk out the south gate to Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote Line. This is central Tokyo, so trains run frequently until around midnight — no need to plan a last connection.
Before you go
- Cash
- Entry to the shrine grounds is free. IC cards (rechargeable transit cards such as Suica or PASMO) work on all the trains here. The Meiji Jingu Museum, inside the grounds, charges a separate admission.
- Closing days
- The shrine closes at sunset, and the exact hours change each month (posted on the official website). It is very crowded on Coming-of-Age Day, the second Monday of January.
- Another way
- JR Yoyogi Station on the Yamanote Line is about a 6-minute walk to the north gate, and works well if the Fukutoshin Line is not convenient for you.
- After you get off
- From Kita-sando Station Exit 3, walk west about 5 minutes (~360 m) along a tree-lined street to the north torii gate of Meiji Jingu.