Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū), Tokyo, Japan

This will be my last article for 2021. Thanks to all who have taken the time to read the travel articles and I appreciate the comments that I have received. This article on the Meiji Shrine is longer than most  of the articles I have written since I have regularly visited and photographed the shrine since I first traveled to Tokyo over 17 years ago. I hope that the pandemic abates so that international travel becomes possible and practical again, but until then I will keep digging into my travel photographs for new articles in 2022. I wish you the best for the holiday season and will see you next year. Stay healthy and happy!

The Meiji Shrine (明治神宮, Meiji Jingū) is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Emperor Meiji and his consort, Empress Shoken. Emperor Meiji presided over the Meiji era, and instigated the Meiji Restoration, a series of rapid changes that witnessed Japan's transformation from an isolationist, feudal state to an industrialized world power [4]. The Japanese government officially started the construction of Meiji Jingū to commemorate their deified spirits after he (1912) and his wife (1914) passed away. The construction took about five years to complete the entire shrine before it was formally dedicated in 1920. Most of the shrine complex was destroyed during the air raids of the Second World War, but thanks to a number of donations from around Japan, the current buildings were restored in 1958 [5].

Located just beside the busy Japan Rail (JR) Harajuku Station, Meiji Shrine and the adjacent Yoyogi Park make up a large forested area within the densely built-up city of Tokyo, Japan. Meiji Jingū is one of Japan's most popular shrines. In the first days of the New Year, the shrine regularly welcomes more than three million visitors for the year's first prayers (初詣, hatsumōde), more than any other shrine or temple in the country. During the rest of the year, traditional Shinto weddings can often be seen taking place there [2], as well as other rituals, processions, and festivals.

I first traveled to Japan on business in 2004 and visited the Meiji Shrine for the first time in the morning on my last day in Tokyo. Since it was a short train ride from the hotel, the group I was traveling with made a brief visit to the shrine before flying back in the afternoon to the USA. On my many subsequent trips to Tokyo, while I have visited the shrine at other times, I have always maintained the ritual of visiting in the morning on my last day in Tokyo before flying home to this day. So the photographs in the article are from a span of visits to the shrine over 15 years. My last visit was 2019, just before Japan closed to tourists because of COVID-19.

Please continue reading the rest of the article to learn more about the Meiji Shrine and see the photographs from my many visits over the years.

Yasurai Matsuri (やすらい祭, Yasurai Festival), Imamiya Shrine (今宮神社, Imamiya-jinja), Kyoto, Japan

This article was updated on 20 Sep 2021 to correct rail pass information.

The Yasurai Matsuri (やすらい祭), or Yasurai Festival, started in the Heian Period (794-1185) and is now held every year on the second Sunday in April at Imamiya Shrine (今宮神社, Imamiya-jinja). The festival is considered to be one of the three most unique Kyoto festivals (the other two being the Uzumasa Bull Festival ((太秦牛祭, Uzumasa Ushi Matsuri) and Kurama Fire Festival (鞍馬の火祭り, Kurama no Hi-matsuri)). The purpose of the festival is to suppress evil deities who are believed to appear in this season and spread infectious diseases. [1]

Kyoto hosts hundreds of festivals, both large and small, throughout the year. The largest and most well-know festival in Japan (not just Kyoto) is the Gion Matsuri (祇園祭), which occurs every year in July with events scheduled for the entire month. Unfortunately the 2020 Gion Matsuri has been cancelled due the pandemic, but when the festival is held, all hotels in Kyoto and the surrounding area are fully booked, and it is impossible to travel around Kyoto due to closed streets and the thousands of people coming to see the festival. On the other hand, the 1000-year old Yasurai Matsuri is not well known (despite being labeled as one of the three most unique of Kyoto's festivals) and is more of a local neighborhood festival that attracts fewer outsiders. The 2020 Yasurai Matsuri was also unfortunately cancelled due to the pandemic. I believe that attending these small festivals gives a foreigner, like me, a better view into Japanese traditions and local life. I have to say that this festival was one of the more memorable experiences I have had in Japan, so I would urge you to consider attending for a more intimate festival experience if you're visit to Kyoto coincides with the annual date.

I attended this festival on 10 Apr 2005, over 15 years ago. Please continue reading the rest of this article to find out more about my experience and to see more photographs.

Kunōzan Tōshōgū Shrine (久能山東照宮), Nihondaira, Japan

This article was updated on 19 Sep 2021 to clarify the rail portion of the trip to Shizuoka Station.

Tokugawa Ieyasu (徳川家康, January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616) was the founder and first shōgun of the Tokugawa shogunate of Japan. He brought a long period of civil wars to an end and united all of Japan. As shōgun, he created and solidified the Tokugawa shogunate, which ushered in the Edo period and effectively ruled Japan for 250 years from 1600 until the Meiji Restoration in 1868. [1]

Nikkō Tōshōgū Shrine (日光東照宮), a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is Japan's most lavishly decorated shrine and mausoleum dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, and is located in Nikkō, which is about two hours north of Tokyo by limited express train. Ieyasu is enshrined at Nikkō Tōshōgū as the deity Tōshō Daigongen (東照大権現), "Great Gongen, Light of the East". A Gongen is believed to be a buddha who has appeared on Earth in the shape of a kami (spirit or god) to save sentient beings. [1] Initially a relatively simple mausoleum, Nikkō Tōshōgū was enlarged into the spectacular complex seen today by Ieyasu's grandson Iemitsu during the first half of the 1600's. [2]

While Nikkō Tōshōgū Shrine should be on everyone's list of sights to see when visiting Japan, this article is not about that easy-to-reach and popular must see (and crowded) place. Tokugawa Ieyasu is not buried at Nikkō Tōshōgū, but on the mountain chosen by Ieyasu himself at Kunōzan Tōshōgū Shrine in Nihondaira, near the city of Shizuoka. Many people believe that "after the first anniversary of his death", his remains were reburied at Nikkō Tōshōgū, but neither shrine has offered to open the graves, so the location of Ieyasu's physical remains are still a mystery. [1] Shizuoka is southwest of Tokyo and is easily reachable in one hour by Shinkansen. While Kunōzan Tōshōgū Shrine is not as large or as lavishly decorated as the Nikkō Tōshōgū Shrine, it has the advantage of being not as well known, so there are fewer tourists and no crowding which allows for a more leisurely pace to view the shrine. Please read the rest of the article to find out about more about this not so well known, designated national treasure near Tokyo.

Not Your Typical Japanese Shrine: Akagi Jinja (赤城神社), Kagurazaka, Tokyo, Japan

If you go to Japan, you will inevitably visit temples and shrines. Temples are associated with Buddhism and shrines, called jinja (神社, じんじゃ) in Japanese, with the native Shinto religion. Customs and practices are different between the two, and these places of worship can be found in all parts of Japan from the largest cities to the smallest village. There are an estimated 80,000+ Shinto shrines in Japan [1] and the common picture that comes to mind is that of a traditional well preserved building that has graced the area for a long time. That picture is true for most shrines in Japan, but not for the Akagi Jinja (赤城神社). The Akagi Jinja has been in the Kagurazaka neighborhood in Tokyo since the 1500's [2], but the traditional buildings on the shrine grounds were replaced with a modern architectural interpretation in 2010 by noted Japanese architect Kuma Kengo. He also designed the condominiums adjacent to the shrine, which has a café open to the public on the first floor. Having condominiums with a café on shrine grounds is highly unusual in Japan. This modern interpretation of a Japanese shrine is unique and worth a visit when you're in Tokyo. The shrine is an easy two minute walk from Kagurazaka Station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai Line.

Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社), Wakayama Prefecture, Japan

This will probably be the last posting for 2018. I wish you and your family a Happy New Year for 2019. The last post this year is for a unique Japanese shrine using the travel blog, rather than my previous end of the year posts in the food blog. I hope you have enjoyed both blogs, and if you have not already, please "Follow" and give the blogs a "Like" on Facebook (food: https://www.facebook.com/ducksoupeasy/, and travel: https://www.facebook.com/ducksoupeasytravel/). Thanks, and I will see you next year.

Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) is a Shinto shrine and part of the UNESCO-designated World Heritage Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range of Japan. [1] The shrine is one of three sacred shrines, known as the Kumano Sanzan (熊野三山) or the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano, located on the Kii peninsula in Wakayama Prefecture, south-east of Osaka. The other two sacred shrines are Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha. The shrines are located on a sacred pilgrimage route known as the Kumano Kodō (熊野古道). While it is still possible to walk the original ancient Kumano Kodō, the sites are now accessible by more modern trains and buses. The most notable sight at the shrine is the three-storied pagoda located near the highest single-drop waterfall in Japan. I visited the shrine on 22 Oct 2018.