Meiji Shrine

Meiji Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, completed in 1920 following the emperor's death in 1912. Emperor Meiji oversaw Japan's dramatic transformation from a feudal society into a modern nation-state during the Meiji era, and this shrine was built by the Japanese people as an act of collective gratitude. It sits at the heart of a 70-hectare evergreen forest planted entirely by hand — 100,000 trees donated from across Japan and beyond — making it one of the most serene and genuinely surprising escapes in any major city on earth.

The approach to the shrine is the experience. You enter through one of several towering torii gates — the largest is one of the biggest wooden torii in Japan — and walk along wide gravel paths through dense forest. The noise of Harajuku and Shinjuku fades almost immediately. Inside the inner garden (which requires a small entry fee and blooms spectacularly with irises in June), you'll find koi ponds, wisteria trellises, and a well that Emperor Meiji once used. At the main shrine complex, visitors participate in the standard Shinto ritual: bow twice, clap twice, bow again. On weekends, it's common to witness a traditional wedding procession moving through the grounds in full ceremonial dress — one of the most quietly moving things you can see in Tokyo.

The shrine is open from sunrise to sunset every day of the year, and admission to the main precinct is free. Come early on a weekday morning and you may have the forest path largely to yourself. New Year's is a different story entirely — Meiji Shrine receives more visitors over the first three days of January than almost any religious site in the world, with around three million people coming to pay their respects. That's either a reason to go or a very good reason to stay away, depending on your temperament.