✨🇯🇵ᴍᴇɪᴊɪ ᴊɪɴɢᴜ (ᴛᴏᴋʏᴏ, ᴊᴀᴘᴀɴ) ⛩️✨

🏮 Meiji Shrine, an ancient Shinto shrine in the Harajuku (Shibuya) district, was built in honor of Emperor Meiji.

🌳 The feeling upon entering the shrine grounds is unbelievable: in the heart of the city, such a mystical, peaceful, and lush natural setting can be felt. Even on weekends, Japanese people flock to the shrine to pay their respects.

⛩️ Along the way, we came across several torii gates, signaling that we were approaching the shrine and entering the sacred grounds. We noticed that Japanese people would turn around and bow as they walked past the torii gates.

🌊 The ladle-shaped area for washing hands and rinsing mouths has been renovated, likely due to the COVID-19 situation.

We arrived at Meiji Shrine. We lined up to pay our respects at the sacred shrine.

👏🏻 Paying respects at Meiji Shrine
▫️ Throw a 5 yen coin (Go-en, the lucky coin) into the wooden box
▫️ Bow twice
▫️ Clap your hands twice
▫️ Make a wish
▫️ Bow once

🧧 Finally, we stopped to rent an omamori (lucky charm). There are many items to choose from, but our favorite was the Peaceful Mind bell. The bell's sound was so beautiful. I recommend you give it a listen! ☺️

🚈 Getting there:
- Take the subway to Meji-jingumae 'Harajuku' Station (from Tokyo Station, take the Chiyoda Green Line)
- Take the JR train to Harajuku Station (from Tokyo Station, take the Yamanote Line)

I understand why it's such a popular place to worship.

It's a completely isolated atmosphere.
It's a sense of peace we can feel. 😌

#Japan #Tokyo #MeijiJingu #MeijiShrine #TravelJapan #TravelJapanByYourself #GetDiscountsWithoutLuck