Hi Everyone,
Sitting right next to the busy Harajuku station, this famous and beautiful Shinto shrine - Meiji Jingu is a must do when you visit Tokyo. As you step out of the station, you'll be greeted by the busy Takeshita Street, a popular shopping strip for locals and tourists. Take right from the train gates through the busy crowds until you reach the entrance to the shrine, you will see a huge torii gate. Keep walking and you will see Meiji Jingu.
Once you enter, normally there is an area to wash your mouth and hands before going into the shrine, but due to COVID, they have closed this up. As we bowed and walked in, you can see the main hall right in front of us. Meiji Jingu is also known for its beautiful iris garden, located across from the main shrine.
The shrine isn’t very big but once you have finished looking around, you can check out the stores selling Omamori. These are traditional Japanese amulets believed to provide various forms of protection or luck. Omamori is often purchased for personal well-being, safe travels, academic success, or business-related success. Each omamori is beautifully crafted and comes in a small colourful bag.
Another thing you could get is an Ema. Ema are wooden plaques where visitors can write their wishes or prayers. These ema are then hung at the shrine as offerings to the gods. They come in different sizes and designs and some people will take them home as souvenirs.
One popular thing locals would by at a shrine which we have also is O-mikuji. O-mikuji are fortune-telling paper strips. Visitors can purchase them to receive a written fortune, ranging from great blessings to minor misfortunes. After reading their fortune, visitors often tie the o-mikuji to nearby designated areas within the shrine to leave the fortune behind.
Meiji Jingu is such a nice peaceful quiet spot to visit away from the busy Tokyo life. Not only for tourists, there were plenty of local Japanese visiting the shrine so this is a must-visit place if you are visiting Tokyo.
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