Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) is free to enter and open every day from sunrise to sunset: 5:40 to 16:40 in October, 6:10 to 16:10 in November. It stands in a 70 ha forest beside JR Harajuku Station, one stop and 2 minutes from Shibuya. Allow about an hour, or two with the Inner Garden and Museum.
Meiji Jingu, usually called Meiji Shrine in English, is free and open every day from sunrise to sunset. In October that means 5:40 to 16:40. It is a Shinto shrine established in 1920 for Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, set in a 70 ha forest right beside JR Harajuku Station. From Shibuya, take the JR Yamanote Line one stop: 2 minutes, ¥155 with an IC card.
Allow about an hour for the shrine on its own, the shrine says, or two if you add the Inner Garden and the Museum.
The gates open at sunrise and close at sunset, so the times change through the year. These are the shrine’s published hours, checked October 2026:
| Month | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| January | 6:40 | 16:20 |
| February | 6:20 | 16:50 |
| March | 5:40 | 17:20 |
| April | 5:10 | 17:50 |
| May | 5:00 | 18:10 |
| June | 5:00 | 18:30 |
| July | 5:00 | 18:20 |
| August | 5:00 | 18:00 |
| September | 5:20 | 17:20 |
| October | 5:40 | 16:40 |
| November | 6:10 | 16:10 |
| December | 6:40 | 16:00 |
Some places and facilities inside keep shorter hours, “mainly 9:00 am to 4:00 pm” in the shrine’s words, so if you want more than the forest and the main hall, arrive after 9:00. If you only want the walk and the courtyard, come early.
| What | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Shrine grounds and main hall | Free | Open every day of the year |
| Inner Garden (Gyoen) | ¥500 | A “contribution for maintenance” |
| Meiji Jingu Museum | ¥1,000 adults, ¥900 high-school age and younger | 10:00 to 16:30, last entry 16:00, closed Thursdays |
Checked October 2026.
The Inner Garden was once imperial property, commissioned by Emperor Meiji partly for Empress Shoken. Irises bloom there in June, and the garden also holds Kiyomasa’s Well. The shrine does not publish the garden’s opening hours on its English pages, so check at the gate.
The Meiji Jingu Museum opened in 2019 in a building by Kengo Kuma, the architect of Tokyo’s New National Stadium. It is closed on Thursdays.
One of the shrine’s entrances is beside JR Harajuku Station, one stop north of Shibuya on the Yamanote Line. The ride takes 2 minutes and costs ¥155 with a Suica or PASMO card or ¥160 with a ticket (checked October 2026). You can also walk from Shibuya in about 15 to 20 minutes.
From the entrance, allow at least another ten minutes to walk to the main buildings. Wheelchairs are available at the entrance. There is nowhere inside to store a suitcase, so leave luggage in a locker at Shibuya or Harajuku first.
The address is 1-1 Yoyogi Kamizono-cho, Shibuya-ku. The shrine sits inside Shibuya ward, next to Yoyogi Park.
You do not need to be Shinto to visit or to pray. The shrine’s own guide to a visit is short.
At the water basin (temizu):
At the main hall (sampai):
The shrine’s rules:
The forest is the part people remember. It covers 70 ha and was planted with 234 kinds of trees donated by regions across Japan, put in by about 110,000 volunteers. The plan was for “an eternal forest that recreates itself”, and the paths feel far from the city station a few minutes away.
The original shrine buildings were destroyed in the Tokyo air raids of the Second World War. The present shrine was completed in October 1958.
You can see the size of the forest from Shibuya. Look north from the SHIBUYA SKY rooftop and the shrine forest and Yoyogi Park show as one dark green block between the Shibuya towers and the Shinjuku skyscrapers.
The shrine runs no official guided tours. If you want the background on Shinto and the imperial family, the Meiji Shrine Walking Tour is a small-group walk of about 90 minutes from Harajuku Station. It passes under the great torii and the sake and wine barrels to the main hall, and ends with a tea stop at the forest cafe.
For a longer day, the Tokyo: Meiji Jingu, Harajuku, Shibuya, and Shinjuku Tour is a private half day by train and on foot that adds Takeshita Street, Cat Street and the Shibuya Crossing, then carries on to Shinjuku.
Meiji Jingu works best first thing in the morning, followed by Takeshita Street on the other side of the station and Omotesando, the avenue that was built in 1919 as the shrine’s approach road. Yoyogi Park is next door if you want somewhere to sit afterwards.
From there you can be back at Shibuya Crossing by train in minutes, or walk down Cat Street. For the rest of the day, see things to do in Shibuya and the Harajuku guide.
1.5 hours
A small-group walk from Harajuku Station under the great torii, past the sake and wine barrels to the main shrine, explaining Shinto and the imperial line, with a tea stop at the forest cafe.
from$10
Check availability4 hours
A private half day across west Tokyo by train and on foot: Meiji Jingu, Takeshita Street and Cat Street, the Shibuya Crossing, then on to Shinjuku, with an optional animal cafe stop.
from$128
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A private car day with hotel pickup that covers the Imperial Palace, Tsukiji, Senso-ji, Skytree and Meiji Jingu and the Shibuya Crossing, with the order adjustable on the day.
from$304 per group (up to 5)
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Meiji Jingu opens at sunrise and closes at sunset every day of the year, so the times change each month. In October 2026 it is open 5:40 to 16:40, in November 6:10 to 16:10 and in December 6:40 to 16:00. The longest days are in June, 5:00 to 18:30. Some facilities inside keep shorter hours, mainly 9:00 to 16:00.
Yes. Meiji Jingu charges no admission fee for the grounds or the main shrine. Two parts cost money: the Inner Garden asks a ¥500 maintenance contribution, and the Meiji Jingu Museum charges ¥1,000 for adults and ¥900 for high-school age and younger (checked October 2026). Offerings at the main hall are optional.
The shrine itself suggests about an hour for a visit to the main buildings, and about two hours if you add the Inner Garden and the Meiji Jingu Museum. The walk from the entrance to the main hall alone takes at least ten minutes each way along the forest paths, so wear comfortable shoes.
Meiji Jingu's own guide: at the water basin, wash your hands, pour water into your hands and rinse your mouth, then wash your hands again. At the main hall you may put a coin in the offertory box, then bow twice, clap twice and bow once more. Non-Shinto visitors are welcome to pray or simply watch.
Yes, in most places. The shrine asks you not to take photos or video at the main sanctuary where people are praying, or at the amulet office. Video and promotional photography need permission, and drones are not allowed. Photos of the torii, the forest paths and the courtyard are fine.
Harajuku is the district one JR Yamanote stop north of Shibuya: 2 minutes by train for ¥155 on an IC card, or 15 to 20 minutes on foot.
Yoyogi Park is a free public park of about 54 ha, open at all hours, 3 minutes' walk from JR Harajuku Station and one Yamanote stop from Shibuya.
Takeshita Street is a pedestrian shopping lane of about 400 m that starts opposite the Takeshita exit of JR Harajuku Station, one Yamanote stop and 2 minutes from Shibuya.
Most visitors to Shibuya come for the Scramble Crossing and the Hachiko statue, then go up SHIBUYA SKY, which costs ¥2,700 online before 15:00.