On your visit
to Harajuku to see the oddly dressed teens and listen to music in Yoyogi park you
might be missing the most important and popular shinto shrine in Tokyo. Meiji Jingu was opened on November
1, 1920 to enshrine the souls and honor the memory of Emperor Meiji (d. 1912) and his wife Empress Shoken (d.1914), whose
policies were instrumental in opening Japan to the outside world and restoring power to the Imperial Family.
The shrine was constructed on a site near an Iris garden that the royal family frequently visited.
At the entrance to Meiji shrine are gigantic Torii (gates)
decorated with the imperial seal, reflect a shrine befitting an Emperor.
A peaceful oasis in the heart of modern
Tokyo, Meiji Shrine is sheltered by a 700,000 square-meter forest of 120,000 evergreen trees, donated from
all parts of Japan when the shrine was established.
The
walkway to the shrine is beautifully lined with tall arched trees.
Many family shinto ceremonies are held at Meiji Jingu, including
weddings, funerals, New Year's celebrations and Boy's day, children's day and girl's day (as shown below).
Below are Meiji shrine's famous
ancient camphor trees, decorated with a Shimenawa.
There are countless gardens surrounding the area and
it's adjacent to Yoyogi park (pictured below) which serves as a great visiting place on Sundays for its live concerts
by local acts, and is also a great place to celebrate the annual Hanami party (cherry blossom viewing party).
A quick
scan of Tokyo's skyline and one can instantly recognize Tokyo's 1,091 foot radio tower, rising above the
landscape providing a great visual point of reference, it's difficult to imagine Tokyo without it.
Here's
a video of our visit to Tokyo Tower in 2010:
Tokyo Tower has
two observation decks and a visiting area (called Foot Town) with museums (trick art and wax museums), shops and restaurants.
Main Observatory
- First Floor
The Main Observatory on the first floor has a nice view
of Tokyo and a window on the floor to see how far up you are, and for interesting photo opportunities. Also
on the First Floor is Club 333 (pictured below), which has live bands from 7-9pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays and a live
DJ on Fridays from 7:30-9pm. The ambience and music are free with your ¥820 admission to Tokyo Tower's Main Observatory.
There's also a cafe (sign pictured below) where you can
enjoy light meals or a cappuccino and a view of Tokyo from a 50 story panoramic window.
On the second floor of the Main Observatory (same admission
price) you'll find a souvenir shop, shinto shrine and the entrance to the special observatory.
Special Observatory - For an additional ¥600 fee
you can visit the special observatory at the very top of Tokyo Tower, which has amazing views.
If you're visiting at
night they have special LED lights set up to make it feel that you're "walking in space", with ambient sounds to assist the
effect. :-) So japanese.
While its history only
dates back to 1961, it's ensured a place in history with the completion of Tokyo Sky Tree in 2012, a sleek new radio tower, which will stand 2,003
feet in the air (nearly twice the size of Tokyo Tower).
Established
at this spot in 1935, Tsukiji Fish Market has long been a tourist attraction for those people curious about where all
the great sushi in Tokyo comes from. It may not be for everyone as its filled with surly fishermen and shrewd restaurant
managers, but it's a great place to see just about every kind of crazy fish 魚 (uo) ....
squid 烏賊 (ika) ...
....octopus 鮹 (tako)....
...and blowfish, wait! that's a display...
ok... here's the honest to goodness deadly blowfish
河豚 (fugu)....
You can try samples too (and even though death by fugu
is rare, we recommend you stay away from the fugu), otherwise get the freshest sashimi you've ever had. :-)
Also they have a Tuna 鮪 (maguro) auction
(for restaurant owners) open to tourists from 5am - 6:15am daily, check out the YouTube video below:
Of note: This is a very industrious area, with fisherman
wheeling around large carts with (literally) tons of fish, so please know that no children are allowed and you
can't wear open toed shoes (like sandals or heels). For courtesy's sake, please don't touch the fish (unless
you've already bought it) and no flash photography is allowed during the tuna auction (too distracting, but you can bring
a camera with no flash).
It is possible
to plan a tour of the Imperial Palace in advance of your visit (use the online english application about a month before you go). Although you don't tour the interior
of the palace, you get to see much more of the palace than the typical tourist. Including the lotus moat, the balcony
where they Emperor speaks and a remarkable defense tower that was so beautiful, when the capital moved from Kyoto to Tokyo
they relocated this building stone by stone. Here's our YouTube video of our tour there in 2010.
The East Gardens are open to the public
at Japan's Imperial Palace in Tokyo. The palace itself (seen from the gardens in the picture below), is occupied by
the current Imperial family and therefore only open to the public on January 2nd (for the New Year's greeting) and December
23rd (for the Emperor's birthday).
The gardens however are open
to the public for free throughout the year during daylight hours 9am-4:30pm, closed only on Mondays and Fridays.
If you need a bit of rest and relaxation, or simply want to
see how the royals live, then a visit to the Imperial Palace Gardens won't disappoint you. :-)
Incidentally, if you're looking to have a picnic in the East
Gardens, or just want a cool place to eat lunch, then check out the brand new Daimaru 大丸 Department Store at
Tokyo Station.
They have an amazing selection of bentos (lunch boxes) and
take out food on the ground floor (like a British Department store, groceries are in the basement), please see the YouTube
video about the grand re-opening of Daimaru - Tokyo Station.
Or if you'd rather grab a bite to eat in a sit down restaurant,
they have numerous restaurants and cafes. For example, there's a sushi restaurant on the 12th floor and Inoda Coffee
(cafe) on the 8th floor.
Still inside Tokyo, but just on the outskirts is one of the
best Buddhist Temples in Tokyo.
Honmon-ji has been an important temple for
hundreds of years, owing to the fact that the leader of the Lotus Sect of Buddhism (Nichiren) died here in the year 1282.
Below is a woodblock printing showing the path leading to Ikegami Honmon-ji from 1932.
...and
the same approach to Honmonji today.
At the top of
those 100 steps of purity, you'll see the gate that leads to the temple.
We visited Ikegami again in 2010, please see the YouTube video below, if you'd like to see
more:
A closer inspection of the gate reveals the temples guardians on either
side, below you can see the shadowy figures on either side of the gate...
...and
below is a close up of Raijin the Thunder God (on the left in the pic above).
...and once safely through the gates (*phew!*),
you can see Soshido Hall. The small roof to the right (in the pic below) is the hall's main purification area.
If you'd like to know how to use it, please click here.
Inside
Soshido Hall you'll find a gilded shrine to pay your respects to.
After you offer incense
or a few yen, a quick look around will reveal the location of the ancient five story pagoda which is the oldest
(and tallest) original pagoda in Tokyo.
Close to the Pagoda is a nice statue
devoted to Nichiren, who died here on a pilgrimage in 1282.
A stroll around the grounds will reveal a much bigger
area than you might have anticipated with buildings, gardens, tea houses and monks living quarters. They even have a
museum (pictured below).
The only other original structure that remained intact is the
library built in 1784(pictured below), that houses all the Buddhist scriptures in hexagonal bookshelves (not open to
the public).
Getting
There - Meiji Jingu - Harajuku
From
Shinjuku 新宿 - Take the Yamanote 山手 line to Harajuku 原宿.
Price: ¥130
Time: 5 minutes
Just make a
right out of Harajuku station, make a right at the bridge and a right into the shrine at the end of the bridge.
From
Nakano 中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line to Shinjuku and transfer to the Yamanote 山手 line to Harajuku 原宿.
Price: ¥160
Time: 11 minutes
Just make a right
out of Harajuku station, make a right at the bridge and a right into the shrine at the end of the bridge.
Getting
There - Daimon - Tokyo Tower
From
Shinjuku 新宿 - Take the Toei Subway
Oedo 大江戸 line to Daimon 大門.
Price: ¥210
Time: 16 minutes
From
Nakano 中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line or Chuo-Sobu 中央総武 line to Shinjuku 新宿 then transfer to the Toei Subway Oedo 大江戸
line to Daimon 大門.
Price: ¥360
Time: 29 minutes
Getting
There - Tsukijishijo- Tsukiji Fish Market
From
Shinjuku 新宿 - Take the Toei Subway
Oedo 大江戸 line to Tsukijishijo 築地市場.
Price: ¥260
Time: 20 minutes
From
Nakano 中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line or Chuo-Sobu 中央総武 line to Shinjuku 新宿 then transfer to the Toei Subway Oedo 大江戸
line to Tsukijishijo 築地市場.
Price: ¥410
Time: 33 minutes
Getting
There - Tokyo Station - Imperial Palace Gardens
From
Shinjuku 新宿 - Take the Chuo 中央 line or Chuo-Sobu 中央総武 line to Tokyo 東京 station.
Price: ¥190
Time: 15 minutes
Follow
signs to the Marunouchi exit and take the main road straight to the Imperial Palace. For more details please
click the link below.
From
Nakano 中野 - Take the Chuo 中央 line or Chuo-Sobu 中央総武 line to Shinjuku 新宿 then transfer to the Yamanote 山手 line to
Gotanda 五反田 then transfer to the Tokyu
Ikegami 東急池上 line to Ikegami
池上.
Price: ¥400
Time: 45 minutes
It's a ten minute
walk from the station, please click the link below to look at the map for more detail.
