Introduction

Meiji Jingu Shrine and the adjoining Yoyogi Park form one of Tokyo's most popular walking routes — a quiet, forested contrast to the city around it, reachable from Harajuku Station. We reviewed a recent travel vlog covering this route and checked its historical claims, since both the shrine and the park have real, well-documented histories that go well beyond "peaceful forest near the city."

A note on scope: this guide covers the shrine and park specifically, not the separate Harajuku shopping district (Takeshita Street and the fashion/boutique scene) that shares the same station — that's a genuinely different experience and isn't covered by the source material we reviewed here.

Meiji Jingu Shrine

Meiji Jingu was built to honor Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, following the Empress's death in 1914 (the Emperor had died in 1912). Planning began soon after, and the shrine was formally enshrined on November 1,

The most striking fact about Meiji Jingu, and one most visitors don't realize while walking through it, is that its entire forest is man-made. Roughly 110,000 volunteers planted it, using 234 different tree varieties donated from across Japan, covering about 70 hectares. The forestry expert who designed it, Dr. Honda Seiroku, deliberately chose and arranged species based on how the forest would look 100 to 200 years later — while still making sure it looked naturally established right from

1920. A century later, that plan has essentially worked: it reads as old-growth forest, not a planted one.

Before entering the shrine itself, there's a purification ritual worth knowing in advance rather than figuring out on the spot: at the temizuya (water pavilion) near the entrance, visitors rinse their hands and mouth before proceeding — standard practice at Shinto shrines generally, not unique to Meiji Jingu, so it's a useful thing to recognize at any shrine you visit in Japan.

Yoyogi Park

Yoyogi Park sits right next to Meiji Jingu and is Tokyo's fourth-largest park, covering 54.1 hectares. Its history is more eventful than its calm present-day atmosphere suggests: the site hosted Japan's first successful powered aircraft flight in 1910, was later used as an army parade ground, and after World War II became a US officers' housing site known as Washington Heights during the occupation. It regained a very different kind of prominence for the 1964 Tokyo Summer Olympics, hosting the Olympic Village and the Yoyogi National Gymnasium; the park as it exists today was formalized in 1967 from the land north of the gymnasium.

Practically, expect wide paved paths (some sections restrict cycling), well-spaced restrooms, plenty of trash/recycling points, and — depending on season — genuinely loud cicada noise that surprises first-time visitors expecting silence. It's also a solid stop for casual bird photography, given the range of species that use the park.

Getting There

Harajuku Station (JR Yamanote Line) is the main gateway to both the shrine and the park, with Meiji Jingu's main approach path starting close to the station.

Practical Tips

• Both the shrine grounds and Yoyogi Park are free to enter.

• Go early if you want the forest walk to feel genuinely quiet — both attract significant foot traffic later in the day.

• If you're doing this as a single outing, the natural order is Harajuku Station → Meiji Jingu → Yoyogi Park, before continuing on to Shibuya, which is a short train ride away.

Sources and Verification Notes

The shrine's founding date, forest planting history, and Dr. Honda Seiroku's design approach, along with Yoyogi Park's Washington Heights and 1964 Olympics history, were checked against the shrine's own historical records and independent historical references — none of this level of detail was present in the source travel vlog, which covered the visit accurately but without this background.