Meiji Jingū
A 70-hectare forest grown from 120,000 donated trees surrounds a cypress-and-copper shrine — the walk in is half the visit.
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Built 1915–1920 as a national project using timber from Kiso, Nagano and Alishan, Taiwan, the shrine honors Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken. Every tree in the surrounding evergreen forest — 365 species — was donated by people from across Japan when the shrine was established, creating dense green silence in the heart of Tokyo.
What to look for
- The Jingu Bashi bridge that marks the formal entrance to the complex
- The Naien treasure museum, built in the Azekurazukuri style, housing personal articles of the Emperor and Empress
- The Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery in the Gaien, which holds 80 large murals depicting events from the imperial couple's lives
Gates open at sunrise and close at sunset — arrive early on weekends to have the forest path to yourself.
Meiji Jingū is one of 35 sights worth the detour in Tokyo, all bundled offline in Voyage GO — download the Tokyo pack and it sits on your map with no signal, filling your travel passport the moment you walk past.
More to see in Tokyo
- Mode Gakuen Cocoon TowerA 50-story school curved like a cocoon — white aluminum and dark-blue glass, criss-crossed by diagonal white lines — that beat 150 rival proposals and won Skyscraper of the Year.
- Tokyo SkytreeAt 634 metres, the height isn't random — 6-3-4 spells "Musashi," the ancient name for this exact corner of Tokyo.
- Tokyo TowerA third of its steel came from US tanks scrapped after the Korean War — Japan's postwar recovery, painted orange and bolted into the sky.
- National Diet LibraryBorn in 1948 as a "citadel of popular sovereignty," Japan's national library holds 12 million volumes — and anyone can walk in.
- Akihabara (Electric Town)The black market that outgrew itself and became Japan's otaku capital.
- Tokyo National MuseumOne in ten of every artwork Japan has ever officially designated a National Treasure lives here.