1 / 4The south gate of Meiji JinguPhoto: Hyppolyte de Saint-Rambert / CC BY-SA 4.0
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Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
Two guided hours from sacred forest to Takeshita-dori’s crepe chaos, from US$20. The best value bookable in the capital, full stop.
- Free to visit — the inner garden asks a ¥500 maintenance contribution; the museum is ¥1,000 for adults..
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Tight" — feasible if you leave straight away: roughly 1½–2 hours on trains, an hour in the forest. be on the train back by mid-afternoon.
- If you would rather be guided, the operator here holds 5.0★ across 139 reviews.
- Open sunrise to sunset every day: October 5:40–16:40, November 6:10–16:10 — the shrine's own monthly table. the meiji jingu museum is 10:00–16:30 (last entry 16:00), closed thursdays..
- 4 hr door to door needs a 6-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
- Book it before you sail. There is no tour desk at the pier and walk-up places are not a thing here.
- No single published ride covers this one. Budget for a taxi both ways, or fold it into a guided day.
Why Meiji Shrine & Harajuku walk is famous
Meiji Shrine was dedicated in 1920 to the emperor who opened Japan to the world, and the forest around it is entirely artificial: 100,000 trees donated from across the empire, planted to become a natural wood in a century. It has. Harajuku begins immediately outside the gate, which is the contrast.
Meiji Jingu is Tokyo's grandest shrine, and its forest is the point. The shrine says it covers 70 hectares and was planted from 1920 by 110,000 volunteers in honour of Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, with 234 varieties of trees donated from across Japan. Every tree was chosen for how it would look after 100 or 200 years, and the forest has since been left to look after itself.
You enter from the Harajuku side and walk in under the trees. It takes at least ten minutes from the entrance to the main shrine buildings, by the shrine's own count. The Inner Garden (a ¥500 contribution), the museum (¥1,000) and the monthly rites and events are optional. Harajuku station is on the shrine's list of nearby stations, so Takeshita-dori is a short step away if you want contrast.
The catch is the clock: the shrine closes at sunset, which in autumn is a little before 16:40 (16:10 in November), so the late part of a long call is wasted here. And it is a lot of rail for a short call. Do not come on a call of less than about five hours.
Things worth knowing
- The shrine opens at sunrise and closes at sunset; check the month's table, which is 16:40 in October and 16:10 in November. Come first, not last.
- The shrine's access page lists Harajuku (JR Yamanote), Meiji-jingu-mae (Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines), Yoyogi and Sangubashi among its stations.
- Motorcycles and bicycles are not allowed in the grounds, and wheelchairs can be borrowed at the entrance (per the shrine's access page).
- The Meiji Jingu Museum is closed on Thursdays and its last entry is 16:00 (¥1,000).
Where the 4 hr goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway, about 30 minutes after the ship arrives. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
about 50 minutes each way is the measured figure for rail ~45–50 min to harajuku, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 2 hr 25 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Book it with a guide
Booked before you sail — there is no tour desk at the pier. Booking through this link supports the site.
Questions people send us
How do I get from the Tokyo cruise terminal to Meiji Shrine?
Take the Yurikamome from Tokyo International Cruise Terminal to Shimbashi (about 15 minutes), then the Ginza line to Omotesando and the Chiyoda line one stop to Meiji-jingumae, or the JR Yamanote line to Harajuku. A Yahoo! Japan route search gave about 45–50 minutes and ¥566 with IC for a 09:00 departure. The shrine entrance is a short walk from either station.
Is Meiji Shrine free, and when does it close?
Entry is free every day. It opens with sunrise and closes with sunset: in October it is 5:40 to 16:40, in November 6:10 to 16:10. The Inner Garden asks for a ¥500 contribution.
How long should I allow?
The shrine says it takes at least ten minutes to walk from the entrance to the main buildings, so allow an hour for a brisk visit. With rail time on a Tokyo call, it needs about five hours at the very least.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day timed from the official timetables, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~4h round tripSenso-ji at Asakusa
The thunder gate, the incense cauldron, the oldest temple in the city — arrive before nine and Nakamise’s snack street is yours.
See the detail
See · ~5hShibuya Crossing & Meiji Shrine
Three thousand people per green light, then a forest shrine one JR stop away, at Harajuku, where you cannot hear the city at all (gates close at sunset: 16:40 in October, 16:10 in November).
See the detail
Eat · ~4h with transitTsukiji Outer Market crawl
The inner auction moved; the good part stayed.
See the detail