Yoyogi Koen

13 of 74 spots
in Tokyo 83% 1511
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Yoyogi Park (, Yoyogi Ken) is one of Tokyo's largest city parks, featuring wide
lawns, ponds and forested areas. It is a great place for jogging, picnicking and other outdoor
activities.

Although Yoyogi Park has relatively few cherry trees compared to other sites in Tokyo, it makes
for a nice cherry blossom viewing spot in spring. Furthermore, it is known for its ginko tree
forest, which turns intensely golden in autumn.

Before becoming a city park in 1967, the area where Yoyogi Park is located served as the site of
the Olympic Village for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and before that, as a residential area for US
military personnel.

Any questions? Ask in our forum.

Get There and Around

Yoyogi Park is a 5 minute walk from Harajuku Station on the JR Yamanote Line. It is
located next to Meiji Shrine.

Orientation in Tokyo
Hours and Fees
Hours

Always open
Closed
 No closing days
Fees

Free

Shinjuku Gyoen
19 of 74 spots
in Tokyo 85% 1019
votes

Introduction

How to Get There

Hours and Fees

 Links

Hotels

Shinjuku Gyoen () is one of Tokyo's largest and most popular parks. Located just a
short walk from Shinjuku Station, the paid park's spacious lawns, meandering walking paths and
tranquil scenery provide a relaxing escape from the busy urban center around it. In spring
Shinjuku Gyoen becomes one of the best places in the city to see cherry blossoms.

Shinjuku Gyoen originated during the Edo Period (1603-1867) as a feudal lord's Tokyo
residence. Later it was converted into a botanical garden before being transferred to the Imperial
Family in 1903 who used used it for recreation and the entertainment of guests. The park was
almost completely destroyed during World War II, but was eventually rebuilt and reopened in
1949 as a public park.
Shinjuku Gyoen is comprised of three different types of gardens:

The oldest is a traditional Japanese landscape garden featuring large ponds dotted with islands
and bridges. Well manicured shrubs and trees surround the water together with several pavilions
and the Kyu Goryotei (also called the Taiwan Pavilion) which was built on the occasion of the
wedding of the Showa Emperor. A chrysanthemum exhibit is held during the first two weeks of
November in the Japanese garden with flower displays and large, temporary pavilions erected
around the grounds.

The park's other main gardens include a symmetrically arranged formal French garden, and
anEnglish landscape garden featuring wide, open lawns surrounded by flowering cherry trees.
The rest of the park consists of forested areas, lawns and several structures including a
restaurant, an information center and an art gallery. There is also a beautiful greenhouse with
many tropical and subtropical flowers.
 Inside the greenhouse

Shinjuku Gyoen is home to a large number of cherry trees of more than a dozen
differentvarieties. From late March to early April, more than 400 somei yoshino trees blossom
around the English garden turning the lawns into one of Tokyo's most popular and
pleasant hanami spots. In addition, the park has numerous early and late blooming cherry trees
which provide an extended cherry blossom viewing season (mid March to late April) for those
who miss the main season.

Shinjuku Gyoen is also nice to visit during autumn when the leaves change. There are a lot of
different types of trees that change colors around the park, however the maple trees are
particularly beautiful and can be seen in large numbers around the Japanese garden and
Momijiyama (maple mountain) on the park's eastern side. The colors typically appear from mid
November to mid December.
Any questions? Ask in our forum.

Get There and Around

Shinjuku Gyoen has three gates:

Shinjuku Gate is a ten minute walk east from the "New South Exit" of JR Shinjuku
Station or a five minute walk from Shinjukugyoenmae Station on the Marunouchi
Subway Line. Okido Gate is also a five minute walk from Shinjukugyoenmae Station on
the Marunouchi Subway Line. Finally, Sendagaya Gate is a five minute walk from JR
Sendagaya Station on the local Chuo/Sobu Line.

Orientation in Tokyo
Hours and Fees
Hours

9:00 to 16:30 (entry until 16:00)

Closed
 Mondays (or following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 29 to January 3.
There are no closing days during the cherry blossom season (late March to late April)
and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (first half of November).
Fees

200 yen

Meiji Shrine

11 of 74 spots
in Tokyo 86% 1935
votes

A torii
gate along the forested approach to Meiji Shrine

Introduction

How to Get There

 Hours and Fees

Links

Hotels

Meiji Shrine (, Meiji Jing) is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor
Meijiand his consort, Empress Shoken. Located just beside the JR Yamanote Line's
busy HarajukuStation, Meiji Shrine and the adjacent Yoyogi Park make up a large forested area
within the densely built-up city. The spacious shrine grounds offer walking paths that are great
for a relaxing stroll.

The shrine was completed and dedicated to the Emperor Meiji and the Empress Shoken in 1920,
eight years after the passing of the emperor and six years after the passing of the empress. The
shrine was destroyed during the Second World War but was rebuilt shortly thereafter.

Emperor Meiji was the first emperor of modern Japan. He was born in 1852 and ascended to the
throne in 1867 at the peak of the Meiji Restoration when Japan's feudal era came to an end and
the emperor was restored to power. During the Meiji Period, Japan modernized and westernized
herself to join the world's major powers by the time Emperor Meiji passed away in 1912.
 The offering hall of Meiji Jingu

The main complex of shrine buildings is located a ten minute walk from both the southern
entrance near Harajuku Station and the northern entrance near Yoyogi Station. Entry into the
shrine grounds is marked by a massive torii gate, after which the sights and sounds of the busy
city are replaced by a tranquil forest. The approximately 100,000 trees that make up Meiji Jingu's
forest were planted during the shrine's construction and were donated from regions across the
entire country.

At the middle of the forest, Meiji Jingu's buildings also have an air of tranquility distinct from
the surrounding city. Visitors to the shrine can take part in typical Shinto activities, such as
making offerings at the main hall, buying charms and amulets or writing out one's wish on
an ema.

Meiji Jingu is one of the Japan's most popular shrines. In the first days of the New Year, the
shrine regularly welcomes more than three million visitors for the year's first prayers
(hatsumode), more than any other shrine or temple in the country. During the rest of the year,
traditional Shinto weddings can often be seen taking place there.

At the northern end of the shrine grounds visitors will come across the Meiji Jingu Treasure
House, which was constructed one year after the shrine was opened. The Treasure House
displays many interesting personal belongings of the Emperor and Empress, including the
carriage which the emperor rode to the formal declaration of the Meiji Constitution in 1889.
There is also a Museum Annex Building just to the east of the main shrine buildings that displays
temporary exhibitions.

A large area of the southern section of the shrine grounds is taken up by the Inner Garden,
which requires an entrance fee to enter. The garden becomes particularly popular during the
middle of June when the irises are in bloom. A small well located within the garden, Kiyomasa's
Well, is named after a military commander who dug it around 400 years ago. The well was
visited by the Emperor and Empress while they were alive and has become a popular spiritual
"power spot".

The Meiji Jingu Treasure House

Any questions? Ask in our forum.

Get There and Around

The approach to Meiji Shrine starts a few steps from Harajuku Station on the JR
Yamanote Lineor Meiji-jingu-mae Station on the Chiyoda and Fukutoshin Subway Lines.

Orientation in Tokyo
Hours and Fees

Meiji Shrine

Hours
Sunrise to sunset

Closed

No closing days

Fees

Free

Treasure House

Hours

9:00 to 16:30 (until 16:00 from November to February)

Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time.

Closed

No closing days (Annex), Weekdays (Main Building)

Fees

500 yen

English

Moderate
Inner Garden

Hours

9:00 to 16:30 (until 16:00 from November to February)

Admission ends 30 minutes before closing time.
Extended hours during the middle of June.

Closed

No closing days

Fees

500 yen