Meiji Shrine
Seventy hectares of forest planted by hand in the middle of the city, at the end of an avenue of cypress torii.
Duration
1 hr – 2 hrs
Best time
Early morning
Open
Every day
Entry price
Free
The shrine was completed in 1920 for Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken. The forest around it did not exist: a hundred and twenty thousand trees, donated from all over the country, were planted by hand on bare ground, chosen to form in time a forest that regenerates itself. It is now a century old and works as intended.
The torii along the avenue are of fifteen-hundred-year-old Taiwanese cypress. The sake barrels stacked to one side are offerings from brewers across Japan; opposite them, casks of Burgundy, given in echo of Meiji's ties with France.
Getting there
JR Harajuku station or Meiji-jingumae subway: the south entrance is two minutes away. The avenue to the shrine is a ten-minute walk.
Rules on site
The shrine opens at sunrise and closes at sunset, so the hours change every month. Walk at the sides of the avenue: the centre is reserved for the deities to pass.
Checked on 28 August 2026 at Japan Activity — what is free in Tokyo in 2026
