MangoVine - Tokyo’s Grandest Meiji Shrine and a Traditional Japanese Wedding

16 May, 2009
Saturday

Visiting the historic Meiji-Jingu or Meiji Shrine couldn't be more different to the nearby subculture-packed Takeshita-dori alley. From Harujuku station, we crossed over the Japanese cosplayer's destination - the Jingu Bridge (where cosplayers gather on Sunday afternoons posing for photos) - to enter the spacious, leafy grounds where the Meiji Shrine is located.

A short walk along the wide paths amongst one hundred thousand trees took us through the biggest gate I'd seen so far in Tokyo!

The now familiar water trough for cleansing before entering the shrine was also just outside the Meiji Shrine.

The Meiji Shrine itself isn't too bad either, proclaimed as Tokyo's grandest Shinto Shrine.

We had limited time when we chose to visit unfortunately, as the spacious shrine lent itself to gentle exploration and the grounds, to peaceful and unhurried walks.

However, we were lucky enough to visit just when a wedding was taking place.

We managed to capture the procession of the traditionally dressed couple and their families, led by a priest and his team, who all made their way across the main courtyard.

A short ceremony occurred before the priest made an exit to side building and the families moved to prepare themselves for the group wedding photos.

See more of this traditional wedding in the following video:

More photos of the Meiji Shrine and the traditional Japanese wedding on Flickr

This entry posted in : Culture. History. Japan. Tourism.

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Tokyo’s Grandest Meiji Shrine and a Traditional Japanese Wedding

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