Meiji Shrine New Year visit

Like is traditional for Japanese people to visit a shrine in the first days of the year for Hatsumode or first shrine visit. Like last year, I joined the most of three million people visiting Meiji Shrine for hatsumode.





Like last year, I avoided the first days to try to evade of the crowds, but still I found a large number of visitors, still this crowd is quite small compared with the ones found on the first day.







Unlike previous years, this year the crowd was managed better by the police, as less people were allowed into the main hall at the same time, allowing for a less stressful moment for prayer and offering to the Shrine.




To end the shrine visit, and celebrate that this year only took three hours, the best is to take a walk through Omotesando, which is beautifully illuminated this time of the year.


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New Year temple visit at Meiji Jingu

Meiji Jingu with 3 million visiting on the first days of the New Year (Hatsumode), is the most visited temple in Japan.


Hatsumode is the Japanese tradition to visit the temple the first week of the year. Brave souls visit the temple at the first hours of the New Year. I visited a few days later, when it wasn’t so crowded.


Meiji Jingu is located in the Shibuya area, next to the Yoyogi park, main entrance is next to harajuku station, which has an access gate for these dates only.


After a short walk through the Meiji jingo forest, which may take a couple of hours on New Year day, visitors purify themselves at the temizuya next to the front gate. The front gate is a magnificent structure at the entrance to the main yard.


After passing the front gate, visitors can access the main hall, on New Year day, there is a large crowd in front of the hall, and police controls the access to the offertory “box”.


The crowds are so large that a huge plastic mat is spread in front of the hall as an offering box, visitors throw coins as offerings.


After leaving the main hall, there is amulet office where amulets and lucky charms can be purchased.


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