Which one to choose in Tokyo
Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) vs Nezu Shrine
Two temples in Tokyo. Meiji Shrine (Meiji Jingu) has 38 tickets and tours to book; Nezu Shrine has 7 tickets and tours to book. The table and the two notes below put them side by side; the full pages have what to see, the ticket and the timing for each.
Tokyo, Japan
Meiji Jingu is free to enter and there is no ticket to buy for the shrine itself: you simply walk in from Harajuku or Yoyogi and follow the gravel path through the forest. A small fee is charged for the inner garden on the south side and for the shrine museum, both of which can be paid on the spot. For most visitors the self-guided visit is all that is needed.
Guided options fall into a few groups. Short walking tours of an hour or two explain Shinto ritual and the history of the imperial family, and often continue into the youth fashion streets of Harajuku and Takeshita Street.
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Tokyo, Japan
Nezu Shrine is free to enter and open to anyone who walks in, so there is no ticket to buy; the only charge is a small fee for the azalea garden on the hillside during the spring festival. Most visitors come on their own, by metro, and combine the shrine with a stroll through the surrounding streets.
What is offered online are walking tours of the old neighbourhoods of northern Tokyo, known together as Yanaka, Nezu and Sendagi, in which the shrine is one of the main stops. Group walks of two to three hours cover the temple-lined lanes of Yanaka, its cemetery and old shopping street before ending among the vermilion gates here, and some include a tasting of traditional Japanese sweets or street snacks.
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