Bryan Walsh, Time’s former Tokyo Bureau Chief, recommends everyone visit this ancient temple.
“The oldest temple in Tokyo, and by far the grandest, Asakusa is a no-brainer for a first visit. Not a bad place to pick up souvenirs either, in the gigantic bazaar in front of the temple. In Japan, the commercial and the spiritual can be indistinguishable.”
As at other shrines and temples in Tokyo, it is the tranquillity and orderliness here that captivate. Glorious woodland, said to comprise 120,000 trees, surrounds Meiji Shrine, which itself has exquisite gardens. The original 1920 shrine was destroyed by bombing in WWII, but the reconstruction is a grandly impressive piece of Shinto-style architecture.
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