Hidden in the forest lies Meiji Shrine (明治神宮)

Last week, I took a trip into Tokyo for computer repairs.  While there, I walked around Shibuya and made the trek through a forest to Meiji Shrine.  The fact that there is a huge forest right in the middle of Shibuya, Tokyo is interesting enough.  

Entrance to Meiji Shrine

The entrance to Meiji Shrine is a huge torii (gate) made of wood.  You pass through and then walk a good half mile or so through a forest to reach the main shrine buildings.  

 

Sake bottles donated to the shrine.

Before reaching the shrine, you can also walk through the Meiji Jingu Garden.  It was really beautiful.  The pathway is narrow and takes you winding through the forest.  You can see a tea house, an old fishing pond, and an azalea garden.  The azaleas were not blooming when I went, but I'll go back another time to see them.

Pathway through the garden.

Koi fish begging for food at the surface.

After I walked through the garden, I continued up the path to the main shrine.  Before entering, you should visit the purification trough, a fountain found outside the temple where you can purify yourself.  This involves washing your hands and/or drinking the water.  It's tradition to take water from the fountain with the bamboo scooper and pour them over your hands (outside the fountain).  If you have a cloth, you can dry your hands... if not, they can air-dry.  The water is quite cold, so my hands were freezing.  

Some people drink the water, but I don't recommend it.  I saw some people wash their hands over the fountain, meaning dirty water was going back into the fountain.  I didn't want to drink that.  

Purification Trough

 Here are pictures of the main shrine:

Shimenawa
. This straw rope with white zigzag paper strips (shide) marks the boundary to something sacred and can be found on torii gates or around sacred trees.

Ema
Shrine visitors write their wishes on these wooden plates and then leave them at the shrine in the hope that their wishes come true. Most people wish for good health, success in business, passing entrance exams, love or wealth.

Overall, I enjoyed the experience going to Meiji Shrine.  I liked the fact that you needed to walk quite a ways into the forest to get to the shrine.  And, remembering that I was in the middle of Shibuya, Tokyo was a bit strange.  The forest takes you into a new world outside the bustle of Tokyo.  The shrine itself wasn't super amazing as I enjoyed the ones in Kamakura more.

More pictures can be found here.