Joen-ji is a picturesque and unremarkable temple, overlooked by some of the tallest buildings in Tokyo. Visiting in the evening, when the bright lights of central Shinjuku are still competing with the remaining sunlight, is the most atmospheric choice. Listening to the wind shaking the wooden sotoba grave markers and dislodging leafs and petals from the temple’s greenery, it certainly doesn’t feel like you’re in one of the densest urban areas in the world. That is, until you look up. The contrast is a pleasing one - vertical lines of the skyscrapers are reflected in miniature by the tightly-spaced graves of the temple’s traditional cemetery.
- 1 min read
Joen-ji and Surrounding Streets
A quiet space inside one of the world's busiest areas

By Joe Robinson
Community writer

A small but colourful auxillary shrine

Old and new

Entrance

Sleepy courtyard overlooked by 200m skyscrapers

The amount of green is refreshing

Looking back out onto the street

A closer look

Vertical lines

Narrow walkways between rows of graves

Small trees make each grave more individual

A forest of sotoba

Close-up of sotoba

On my way back out

Top

And bottom

Artificial lights in the dark
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