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Category: SHRINES & TEMPLES

By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017January 9, 2019

Search by destination, A-Z

Here are quick looks at the best stuff to do in every corner of Tokyo, to help you decide where you’d like to go. • AKIHABARA  The famous electronics district … Continue reading Search by destination, A-Z

Categories: CULTURAL SHOPPING, GARDENS, MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, NEW JAPAN, OLD JAPAN, ONLY-IN-JAPAN EXPERIENCES, SHOPPING, SHRINES & TEMPLES
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 20, 2017

The best shrines & temples in Tokyo

Everyone thinks you have to go to Kyoto to see beautiful shrines and temples, but Tokyo boasts some incredibly amazing ones if you know where to look. These are my … Continue reading The best shrines & temples in Tokyo

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: shrine, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 19, 2017

If you’re like me…

you want to see all the stuff that’s not in the guidebooks. Here’s an overview of the places I take my friends when they come to town, so you can … Continue reading If you’re like me…

Categories: GARDENS, MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, NEW JAPAN, OLD JAPAN, ONLY-IN-JAPAN EXPERIENCES, SHOPPING, SHRINES & TEMPLES
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017October 19, 2017

Akihabara Area

Akihabara is all about maid cafés, cosplay supply stores & all things electronic. It’s where the new, newer, newest of electronics, household goods (like smart toilet seats) and everything J-pop is sold. Akiba … Continue reading Akihabara Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, NEW JAPAN, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: anime, gundam, maid cafe, manga
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 27, 2017

Asakusa Area

This is where I often take people on their first day in Tokyo. It’s everything you thought Japan would be – traditional festivals, a secret garden, temples & more! Asakusa is … Continue reading Asakusa Area

Categories: CULTURAL SHOPPING, GARDENS, MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, OLD JAPAN, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: museum, shrine, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Gotoku-ji Temple

The lucky cat temple with a magnificent wooden pagoda, Gotoku-ji is a serene and uncrowded temple seldom visited by tourists. It’s a great place to see plum blossoms (Feb) and autumn leaves … Continue reading Gotoku-ji Temple

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: featured, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Harajuku Area

Harajuku is home to the beautiful and serene Meiji Shrine, the wacky free entertainment of Yoyogi Park, and more cult fashion shops than you can count. First let’s stop at the Meiji … Continue reading Harajuku Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, NEW JAPAN, ONLY-IN-JAPAN EXPERIENCES, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: fashion, Meiji Shrine, Omotesando, Yoyogi Park
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 20, 2017

Hasedera Temple

Kamakura is stuffed with entertaining shrines and temples, but this is the only one with a hillside of gorgeous hydrangeas, a thirty-foot-tall Kannon figure covered in gold, and a candle-lit … Continue reading Hasedera Temple

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: Hasedera, hydrangeas, Kamakura, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Kamakura Day Trip

  Let’s get out of Tokyo for a day, and see some of the most entertaining shrines & temples in Japan. Kamakura was the capitol of Japan during the early days of … Continue reading Kamakura Day Trip

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, OLD JAPAN, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: Daibutsu, shrine, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Kamiyacho Area

  Kamiya-cho? Why would anyone want to get off the train at Kamiya-cho? Actually, from Kamiya-cho Station, we can walk to that incongruously orange replica of the EiffelTower and a … Continue reading Kamiyacho Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: temple, Tokyo Tower
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 21, 2017

Kanda Myōjin Shrine

Sure, Kanda Myōjin is a gorgeous red and gold shrine, but the best part is that this is the place where comic book artists and anime auteurs come to pray … Continue reading Kanda Myōjin Shrine

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: best shrines in Tokyo, best shrines Tokyo, Kanda, Kanda Myojin, Kanda Myoujin, most beautiful shrines in Tokyo, shrine
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Kudanshita Area

This neighborhood is home to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine and the magnificent Imperial Palace moat. From an extensive World War II museum to spectacular seasonal festivals, this area is also boasts … Continue reading Kudanshita Area

Categories: GARDENS, NEIGHBORHOODS, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: cherry, Yasukuni
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Meiji Shrine

The Meiji Shrine has the most spectacular weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, festivals and traditional events in town. Many people find it more beautiful than all the brightly lacquered shrines put together.   … Continue reading Meiji Shrine

Categories: GARDENS, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: garden, shrine
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Monzen-Nakacho Area

  This Old Tokyo shitamachi neighborhood has a temple where we can watch a fire ceremony with taiko drums, a dragon fountain that grants wishes written on dissolving paper, and is one of the … Continue reading Monzen-Nakacho Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, ONLY-IN-JAPAN EXPERIENCES, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: cherry, fire, temple
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Mt. Takao Area

At Mt. Takao, you can go hiking, monkey-viewing, beer drinking & firewalking just an hour from Tokyo. Hours of cable car/chairlift to the top:8:00 – 21:15. (Note: These change seasonally. Detailed info about first … Continue reading Mt. Takao Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, ONLY-IN-JAPAN EXPERIENCES, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: fire, leaves, monkey, shrine
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Nezu Area

This is my favorite shrine in Tokyo. I love walking through the long tunnel of orange torii gates, and in April the hills surrounding it are covered in blooming azaleas. … Continue reading Nezu Area

Categories: CULTURAL SHOPPING, GARDENS, NEIGHBORHOODS, OLD JAPAN, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: azalea, festival, shrine
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Nishiarai-Daishi Temple

This off-the-beaten-path temple is famous for its peony gardens (April) and its wart-curing shrine, but it’s also a great place for seasonal festivals and markets that are not at all … Continue reading Nishiarai-Daishi Temple

Categories: GARDENS, SHRINES & TEMPLES
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Sasuke Inari Shrine

  Tiny, moss-covered, fox villages make this shrine extra-magical. Walk through the shadowy tunnel of orange torii gates, and you’ll find yourself in another world. The shrine seems to grow out of … Continue reading Sasuke Inari Shrine

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: fox shrine, Kamakura, Sasuke Inari
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Sengakuji Temple

    You know the story of the 47 ronin? The samurai who avenged their lord, then were all ordered to commit ritual suicide? Well, this is the temple where … Continue reading Sengakuji Temple

Categories: MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, OLD JAPAN, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: 47 ronin, museum
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Shinjuku Area

Shinjuku and the adult entertainment district known as Kabukicho are filled with stylish host clubs, bars, and all kinds of entertainment that’s definitely not for kids. But it’s also where … Continue reading Shinjuku Area

Categories: GARDENS, NEIGHBORHOODS, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: bar, cat cafe, entertainment, garden
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017October 19, 2017

Ueno Area

  It always baffles me that guidebooks send people to Ueno for all the wrong reasons. For example, if you go during cherry blossom season, chances are, all you’ll see is this: … Continue reading Ueno Area

Categories: CULTURAL SHOPPING, GARDENS, MUSEUMS, NEIGHBORHOODS, SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: cherry, zoo
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Yasukuni Shrine

This is a gorgeous, lively, maddeningly nationalistic, must-see Imperial shrine. If you follow Japanese news at all, every year you’ll hear about the Yasukuni Shrine. It’s the place where the … Continue reading Yasukuni Shrine

Categories: MUSEUMS, SHRINES & TEMPLES
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Jul 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Yushima Area

  I love the Yushima shrine because it’s beautiful, and hosts some of the most stunning seasonal festivals in all of Tokyo. If you’re in Tokyo in March of November, the plum … Continue reading Yushima Area

Categories: NEIGHBORHOODS, SHRINES & TEMPLES
By Jonelle Patrick Posted on Feb 23, 2017August 15, 2017

Zojo-ji Temple

I never get tired of visiting the avenues of Zojo-ji’s lovely, colorful Jizo figures with their spinning pinwheels. Zojo-ji Temple is also the site of seven shoguns’ graves and a fine place to … Continue reading Zojo-ji Temple

Categories: SHRINES & TEMPLESTags: Jizo, temple

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