Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
BEST OF HARAJUKU, AOYAMA AND SHIBUYA
Meiji-jingū
Wander the paths of the richly forested Inner Garden (see p.110)
Harajuku Station
Gawp at some of Japan's craziest fashion (see p.112)
Japan Folk Crafts Museum
Get your mitts on a handmade piece (see p.116)
Nezu Museum
Enjoy the captivating gardens at this superbly designed museum (see p.114)
Ramen Nagi
Slurp down a true rarity - pesto and cheese ramen (see p.156)
Omotesandō
Check out the fashion flagships (see p.112)
LOHB
Sip a coffee and gaze down over teeming Shibuya Crossing (see p.163)
Karaoke-kan
Do your very best Chili Peppers, Lady Gaga or Bill Murray impression (see p.174)
10
If shopping's not your bag, there are many other good reasons for visiting these areas,
the best being the verdant grounds of the city's most venerable shrine,
Meiji-jingū
.
Just off Omotesandō are several interesting
galleries
, including the
Nezu Museum
with its beautiful garden;
Ōta Memorial Museum of Art
, dedicated to
ukiyo-e
prints;
and the anarchic
Design Festa Gallery
.
Meiji-jingū
໌࣏ਆٶ
•
W
meijijingu.or.jp
Covering parts of both Aoyama and Harajuku are the grounds of
Meiji-jingū
,
Tokyo's premier Shinto shrine, a memorial to Emperor Meiji and his empress Shōken.
Together with the neighbouring shrines to General Nogi and Admiral Tōgō (see
p.112), Meiji-jingū was created as a symbol of imperial power and Japanese racial
superiority. Rebuilt in 1958 after being destroyed during World War II, the shrine
is the focus of several annual
festivals
(see box, p.110). Apart from the festivals,
Meiji-jingū is best visited midweek, when its calm serenity can be appreciated without
the crowds.
he
Outer Garden
, south of Sendagaya and Shinanomachi stations, contains the
Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery and several sporting arenas, while a kilometre west the
more important
Inner Garden
, beside Harajuku Station, includes the emperor's shrine,
the empress's iris gardens, the Treasure House and extensive wooded grounds.
Outer Garden
֎ԓ
, Gaien •
W
www.meijijingugaien.jp • Aoyama-itchōme, Shinanomachi or Kokuritsu-kyōgijō stations
A pretty, ginkgo-tree-lined approach road heads to the south entrance of the
Outer Garden
- a dazzling, golden sight in the autumn. You'll spy several sporting stadiums and grounds
to your left, and on your right the wedding hall complex
Meiji Kinenkan
.
Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery
ಙه೦ֆըؗ
, Seitoku Kinen Kaigakan • 1-1 Kasumigaokamachi, Shinjuku-ku • Daily 9am-5pm • ¥500 • Shinanomachi or
Kokuritsu-kyōgijō stations
At the northern end of the Outer Garden's ginkgo-lined entrance road is the
Meiji
Memorial Picture Gallery
, built in a similar Western style to the National Diet Building
(see p.89) with a marble-clad entrance hall that soars up to a central dome. Inside are
forty paintings depicting the life story of Emperor Meiji, of interest more for their
scenes of Japan emerging from its feudal past than for their artistic merits.
National Stadium
Just across the road from the Meiji Memorial gallery looms the 75,000-seater
National Stadium
, built for the 1964 Olympics. It hosts occasional events these days,
usually on weekends, but these will likely cease in 2015 as soon as preparations start
for the 2020 Games. A revamped, enlarged version of the stadium is expected to
form the centrepiece of the event, hosting athletics and the rugby and football finals,
