![[Tokyo] Meiji Shrine 明治神宮](https://www.sugarednspiced.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/RIMG25901.jpg)
Meiji Shrine 明治神宮
Add: 1-1, Kamizono-chō, Yoyogi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0053
Tel: 03-3379-5511
Hours: varies throughout the year, check website for details
Website:www.meijijingu.or.jp/english
Price: free
Visited: Jan 2011
Meiji Jingu is an expansive Shinto shrine built in 1920 as a dedication for Emperor Meiji and his wife Empress Shoken. A must-visit for first-timers in Tokyo.
At the entrance there is, like at all other Shinto shrines, a temizuya where you are supposed to cleanse yourself before entering the sacred ground of the gods. Here’s the drill: rinse your left hand, rinse your right hand, pour water into your left hand, rinse you mouth (but don’t touch the dipper directly with your lips), rinse your left hand again, and finally, rinse the dipper before putting it back.
We happened to run into a Shinto wedding procession, which apparently happens quite often as it is a popular practice to get married in Meiji Shrine. The procession was led by two priests and two shrine maidens, followed by the couple under a red umbrella, and finally family and friends. There were plenty of spectators snapping pictures here and there, forming another line outside the procession. Quite a view.
