Tokyo / Ueno & Yanaka / Shrine

Nezu Shrine

根津神社 ねづじんじゃ

A 1706 shrine intact from the shogun's day, with a hillside of three thousand azaleas and a tunnel of small torii.

Worth itHistory · Free · Photogenic · Seasonal · Quiet · Early morning

Every building here — main hall, gates, the fence with its gilded lattice — was put up by the fifth shogun in 1706 and has never burned, which makes it the most complete Edo-period shrine in the city. It sits in a hollow with a pond, and on the slope above it a hundred varieties of azalea flower from mid-April, drawing a festival with food stalls and a plant market. The line of small red torii climbing the hill was given by worshippers over the centuries and is the one people photograph; the real thing is the hall behind it, carved and painted and seldom crowded.

Don't miss

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A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
End a Yanaka walk here and take the Chiyoda line from Nezu station, two minutes away.
Best time
Early morning any season; late April for azaleas.
Allow
40 min
Station
Nezu (Chiyoda line), 5 minutes; Todaimae (Namboku line), 5 minutes
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.nedujinja.or.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Ueno & Yanaka

Museum Essential

Tokyo National Museum東京国立博物館

The national collection — swords, Buddhas, screens, kimono, tea bowls — in six buildings on the edge of the park.

150 min · Ueno (JR, park exit), 10 minutes across the park; Uguisudani (JR), 10 minutes
Museum Essential

National Museum of Western Art国立西洋美術館

Le Corbusier's only building in East Asia, a World Heritage Site, with Rodin in the forecourt and Monet inside.

90 min · Ueno (JR, park exit), 1 minute
Park Essential

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Japan's first public park — the cherry avenue, the lotus pond, a Toshogu shrine in gold, and a zoo.

90 min · Ueno (JR / Ginza / Hibiya lines), park exit

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