Visit to Meiji Shrine in Tokyo

6 April 2015

Meiji Shrine is located within Yoyogi Park. The Meiji Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji (first emperor of modern Japan) and his consort, Empress Shoken. The entrance to the park is next to the Harajuku Station. As in most entrances to Japanese shrines, there is a huge wooden torii gate at the park entrance.

We had to walk quite a distance on a gravel pathway through a forested area to get to the shrine. Along the path, we passed huge barrels of sake on the right side of the path and wine barrels on the other.  The sake barrels are donated  by Meiji Jingu Nationwide Sake Brewers Association and the wine barrels seemed to have come all the way from France.

Sake barrels on the right side of the path towards the shrine.

Wine barrels seemed to have come all the way from France, on the left side of the path.

Purification Fountain.

Another torii gate at entrance to the shrine complex.

Spacious courtyard area inside the complex.

 Looking out from one of the side gates.

Details of one the lamps in the corridor surrounding the complex.

Worshippers paying respect.

Worshippers writing their wishes on ema tablets (wooden wishing plaques) and then hanging it on the board round a divine tree.

Overall we spent slightly over an hour walking through Yoyogi Park and visiting the Meiji Shrine itself.