Tokyo Beyond Technology

One thing which amazed me in tech city Tokyo, Japan, was the spiritual and cultural connect of the city. How deeply Japanese venerate their values, this I witnessed when I visited two prominent sacred places in Tokyo, the Meiji Shrine and the Sensoji Buddhist temple.

I visited famous Meiji Shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji. He was considered to be a progressive monarch and revered by public. Meiji Shrine, besides being a sacred place, is a different world altogether. Surrounded by green setting of Yoyogi Park, comprising more than one lac trees, visibly looks like a forest. Meiji Shrine is a welcome retreat from buzzing Tokyo life, and that too in the city center, adjacent to ultra fashionable area of Tokyo.

At the entrance of Meiji Shrine stand majestic gates of about forty feet tall. That symbolize the sacredness of the place. Then washing of hands, again symbolic gesture of purity. Inside shrine, further, there is one heavenly inner garden, called Iris Garden, where more than hundred species of irises bloom. It is believed that Emperor Meiji himself planned Iris Garden for his wife. There is one Treasure house, sort of museum, exhibiting portraits and  items used by Japanese emperors. There are few other buildings in the Meiji Shrine complex, that are used for various events and celebrations. I was told that on new year day the Meiji Shrine and Yoyogi garden remains packed with more than a million people.

Meiji Shrine is very popular for traditional Japanese weddings. I was delighted watching one such wedding. Such a pretty sight. I enjoy learning about other cultures so I remained there till the last ritual of wedding performed and truly relished each moment.

Unparalleled beauty of Meiji Shrine combined with tranquil atmosphere make it the most visited shrine of Tokyo. Shrine is very accessible from Yoyogi station

Visiting Sensoji Buddhist temple in Asakusa, was a deep spiritual experience for me. Entrance through a beautiful outer thunder gate leads to a colourful shopping street selling traditional Japanese items, souvenirs and local delicacies. It is said that shopping street called as Nakamise exists there for centuries. Shopping street culminates in main gate of temple. Then appears the imposing pagoda. Lot of ceremonies were taking place inside the temple. I participated in each of those. While performing some rituals, I felt like being in typical Hindu temple of India. Must say my Buddhist temple experience in Tokyo was different than other Buddhist temples I had visited in other countries.

So this was my feel of Tokyo beyond technology.

39 Comments

  1. My husband has been to Japan and he has such great things to say about his experience! I’d love to visit someday, and the idea of spending some time in a Buddhist temple sounds like an unforgettable experience.

  2. Hi Globetrotting Indu,

    I saw you tweeting about technology and I thought I’d check out your website. I really like it. Looks like Globetrotting Indu has come a long way!
    Keep making great stuff!

  3. Your posts are so inspiring. I have always wanted to visit Japan, I am so amazed by the Japenese people, their values, their work culture, and everything. Great to know about your visit to the two sacred sites.

  4. I’ve been in Japan, Tokyo last year and like what you said Japan is lots of cultures, traditions, and histories. and at the same time, Japan is such a beautiful place to visit.

  5. Japan has some amazing temples and it looks like you found such a beautiful one in Tokyo. I bet it was amazing to observe a Japanese wedding!

  6. This is definitely a different take on Japan. It’s always interesting to learn something new. I’ve seen the tourists spots and heard about the technology,but the spiritual side was quite enlightening.

  7. I’ve been there in Japan last 2016 and I would say that this is such a beautiful place to visit. Lots of beautiful scenery.

  8. What an inspirational post. I hope I will have a chance to visit this temple, I would love to visit Tokyo with my brother!

  9. That’s actually really interesting, as I didn’t even realize Tokyo had such a deeply religious bent to it. I’m looking forward to one day visiting. My nephew just went and loved it.

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