May 24, 2014 - 1 min read

Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine

Beautiful Shinto shrine dedicated to the God of War

By George Popescu

Community writer

The beautiful entrance to the shrine has some traditional torii as well as some contemporary stairs.

The Sun was shining and the different types of trees really gave a magical atmosphere to the day.

The architecture on the short columns is amazing, especially dripping with water from the melting snow.

This is one of the many lion type guardians of the shrine, here I suppose he's not happy about wearing a snow hat.

So many wishes and so many papers, it was like a sea with different waves of hopes.

This is the walkway to a smaller and more private shrine where people went to pray and make wishes.

The light of the Sun caressed this monument with white heat, the shadows from the trees made sure it was still cold enough to retain some snow on top.

These guys are guarding the shrine and they are all wearing some bibs, some are purple and some are red.

He is watching patiently for hundreds of years, some of his brothers are already falling apart and missing pieces.

This is a beautifully sculpted barrel, I'm not sure what's in it or what it's purpose is but the writing and design on it as well as the old faded colors are amazing.

This is a wider view of the main building of the shrine, as well as how the Sun hits it through the various trees that are around it. In the foreground you can see a small snowman.

This is one of the walkways leading you around the shrine, the whole small park is circular in its design.

A simple walkway taking you away from the shrine, it's very traditional and quaint.

Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine (代々木八幡宮) is a Shinto shrine located on a hill a short walk from Yoyogi-Koen station on the Chiyoda Metro line. The shrine is a tall house dedicated to the god Hachiman which is the god of war. It has been recreated to mark the place where people lived 4,500 years ago. The architecture of the columns and torii gates is amazing there are many details. The different trees surrounding the shrine give it a unique and sheltered look as well as making it have an atmosphere of peace and quiet.

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By George Popescu

Community writer

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Nicole Bauer 10 years ago

This used to be my local shrine and I absolutely love it! There are 2 festivals every year that are also worth visiting. The first one takes place tomorrow actually (May, 25th 2014), the so-called "Goldfish Festival", the other one, the shrine's main annual festival, is in the middle of September.

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