If you take the JR line to Harajuku, the Meiji Shrine is just to the west of the station. The large, leafy park is a welcome respite from the hustle and bustle of Harajuku.

The Meiji Shrine is dedicated to the emperor Meiji and his consort, Shoken. Meiji died in the early part of the 20th century. There are tens of thousands of trees here.

Meiji Shrine is located near the center of the park. The entrance is free. If you'd like to offer your wishes then go up to the shrine, throw a coin in the box and bow your head, clap your hands, wish for something, clap your hands again and bow. There are charms and other things for sale in little booths to the east.

The rest of the park is much less crowded then the central shrine area and is a great place for a walk. There is 'Treasure Museum' to the north but the offerings are quite slim (many recent portraits of emperors and empresses and a carriage). There is also a museum annex in the southeast area of the park, next to the big gift shop and restaurant. This annex presents rotating exhibits, some quite good. Entrance for the 'Treasure Museum', which includes the annex, is 600 yen but students get a discount.

The official website in English can be found here: www.meijijingu.or.jp/english/index.htm

As an Asian History student, it would have been shameful for me to have visited Tokyo and ignored the Meiji Shrine, or Meiji Jingu. We had decided to meet our friend at the shrine as he would be returning from a trip to a traditional Japanese inn.

As we exited the Harajuku train station, I found myself staring across the street at none other than SNOOPYTOWN, the mecca of my Snoopy quest. Faced with an agonizing decision (do I meet our friend or do I fulfill my dream of buying every Snoopy item ever made that I cannot get at home?), I reluctantly steered myself toward the Meiji Jingu. Duty before personal satisfaction.

As we walked what seemed like a mile to the center of the Meiji Shrine, again, I noticed the complete lack of park benches or places to give my aching feet a rest. However, my discomfort subsided as I allowed the tranquility of the shrine’s surroundings to calm my nerves.

We passed through a few sets of torii, the traditional gates which signify a religious site. The hustle and bustle of Harajuku on the other side of tall trees seemed to quiet as we continued toward the shrine.

As we neared the main building, we entered a courtyard where local worshipers could hang prayers on a prayer tree. Visitors could purchase a wooden block, write a prayer on it, and hang the prayer on the tree. We perused the various prayers in both Japanese and English.

Suddenly it dawned on me that our friend was nowhere to be found. Perhaps he missed the train? Despite our misfortune of losing our friend, we happened to be in the right place at the right time. A traditional Shinto wedding ceremony paraded by us and we watched the bride and groom with the Shinto priest. While I hear that these traditional weddings are fairly common and must be booked several months in advance, I found out that our friend, who really did miss the train, did not get the chance to witness a wedding when he finally made it to the shrine. So I count ourselves as lucky.

Since we never connected with our friend at the Meiji Jingu, we had time to return to Snoopytown and explore to my heart’s content. But that’s another story. Make sure that you do not miss the Meiji Jingu to witness an integral part of Japanese life. The Shinto religion plays a large part in Japanese culture. The tranquil settings differ greatly from the Buddhist temples in Asakusa and appealed more to me than the garish spectacles I saw there.

The Meiji Jingu Shinto shrine was constructed to venerate the Emperor Meiji and his wife, Empress Shoken. They passed away in 1912 and 1914, respectively, and were enshrined November 1, 1920. The original Meiji Jingu was burnt down in air raids during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1958.Shinto is a native religion of Japan and involves the worship of kami, "sacred spirits which take the form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains, trees, rivers and fertility." Thus, Shinto practices are meant to promote harmony between the living and kami, instead of preparing for the afterlife as in Christianity.While Shinto lost its status as the state religion after World War II, many of its practices remain and it has shaped Japanese culture. The four main Shinto affirmations are tradition and family, love of nature, physical cleanliness, festivals dedicated to the kami.Meiji Jingu is located near the Harajuku train station. The shrine is nestled at the heart of a 700,000 square meter evergreen forest, the trees donated by people from all over Japan when the shrine was established. As you enter the forest and follow the path to the shrine, the sights and sounds of modern Japan fade away.First you will encounter Otorii, the grand shrine gate and the biggest wooden torii in Japan. Made out of Japanese Cypress, it is 12m high, each pillar 1.2m in diameter, and the upper cross piece spans 17m. As with all structures in the shrine, it is an exact replica of the original. It was rebuilt in 1975. This gate is part of the barrier separating our living world and the world the kami live in.Before you reach the shrine, you will come across Temizusha, the font for absolutions. To pay respect at a Shinto shrine, you must rinse your hands and mouth using water from the stone basin. You should not touch the dipper with your lips directly. You can then proceed to the main Shrine building. Here, you bow twice, clap your hands twice, and bow once more. You may throw some coins into the offering box if you wish.The Meiji Jingu was designed by the architect Chuta Ito. The Main Shrine is built with Japanese cypress. Because Japanese cypress is highly water-resistant, it is unpainted and used in its natural state. The Shrine roofs are clad with copper plates that are highly durable and noted for their beautiful green rust.Being a spiritual center for the city, there are many events and ceremonies held at the Meiji Jingu. I was lucky enough to see a Shinto wedding procession. As I stood there snapping away, it struck me how as a tourist I had no qualms about taking pictures of a total stranger’s wedding. How would I feel about random Japanese tourists taking pictures of my wedding?Overall I recommend visiting the Meiji Jingu. Just go early in the morning to avoid crowds.

This classical-looking shrine was dedicated to Emperor Meiji, hailed as the "Father of Modern Japan", in 1920. After it was damaged during World War II, the shrine was reconstructed in 1958. The shrine has huge Inner and Outer Gardens, and over 100,000 shrubs were donated to the premises from Japanese citizens all across the nation as a tribute to Emperor Meiji.

Two large torii gates reaching heights of 40 feet (among the largest of this kind) lead to the shrine. The style of the building is called "Nagarezukuri", and liberally employs Japanese cypress wood in its construction. The green copper roofs have a steep and graceful swoop to them, but they are looking a bit weathered nowadays. Other buildings on the premises are the Treasure Museum, the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, and the Meiji Memorial Hall ("Wedding Hall").

As indicated by the name, the Inner Garden beautifully surrounds the shrine. Over two million visitors pack the grounds to pay their respects to their ancestors during New Years ceremonies. The Outer Garden, in effect an annex to the Inner Garden, is a bit further east. The Outer Garden has a completely different character than the Inner Garden, as this is more like the "sports center" of Tokyo. There is the National Stadium (used during the 1964 Summer Olympics), baseball fields, tennis courts, and gymnasia.

I remember meeting a few fellows who flew in from Sao Paulo to Tokyo via Chicago (that's a lot of flying!). These green-clad guys were fans of the Palmeiras soccer club, who were to play Manchester United in a championship match. It almost seemed that they came to the shrine to wish their team good luck in the game (they would eventually lose the match to the storied English club).

Meiji Jingu is the largest and most important Shinto shrine in Tokyo. It was originally built in 1920 in honor of the memory of Emperor Meiji whose reign (1867 to 1912) is credited with modernizing Japan to a level able to compete with the best in the world after almost three centuries of self-imposed isolation. Both the Emperor and his wife are enshrined here.

The original shrine was destroyed during the Second World War and the current construction was completed in 1958. In contrast to many other postwar reconstructions in Japan, the original plans were followed and the correct building materials, in this case mainly Japanese cypress, were used. The shrine is situated in a forest like park with more than 120 000 trees donated from all areas of Japan.

The main entrance to the shrine is close to Harajuku Station (JR Yamanote Line) or Meiji Jingumae Station (Chiyoda subway line). You enter through an enormous wooden torii (see photo below) and proceed along a wide gravel walkway. After several minutes walk turn to the left and go through another torii - the largest wooden torii in Japan. To the left is a small park - admittance charged and not really worth it. (A surcharge is added while the irises are blooming in June / July whether in full bloom or nearing expiration!)

The shrine itself follows a type of Shinto shrine architecture dating back to the eight century of dignified simplicity with decorations limited to the absolute minimum. This is in stark contrast to the splendor and excessive decoration at the mausoleum of the first Tokugawa Shogun in Nikko. At Meiji Jingu most of the wood are unpainted, with a limited use of white paint and copper naturally turned green the only contrasting colors. The chrysanthemum crest of the imperial family is visible in several places including the square lanterns hanging from the eaves.

If you cut your shrine viewing teeth in Nikko or Kamakura, Meiji Jingu will come as a pleasant surprise - there are practically no stairs here. That said the walk from the entrance to the shrine itself takes a good 20 minutes or so. It is mostly gravel and can get a bit dusty on a busy day. It is also not suitable for narrow wheel strollers and wheelchairs although ones with thicker wheels seem to be OK.

There are frequent festivals and events held at the shrine. The most crowded is the first three days of the New Year. On New Year’s Eve it can take several hours to proceed from the entrance to the shrine itself and even on 2 January you can expect enough people to slow proceedings down to a crawl.

The Meiji Shrine is open from sunrise to sunset and entrance is free.