Tokyo · Central Tokyo
Hie Shrine
Hie Shrine has existed since the Kamakura period, and in the middle of the 17th century it moved to the hill in Nagatacho as the guardian shrine of Edo Castle. Today it is considered the guardian shrine of the Imperial Palace. At the entrance from the Sanno side you climb through a tunnel of red torii gates, a small and quiet version of what you know from Fushimi Inari in Kyoto.
The shrine is guarded by statues of monkeys, the messengers of the shrine's god, and not by foxes as at Inari shrines. The pair of monkeys is also linked to couples and matchmaking.
The Sanno Festival, one of the three great festivals of Tokyo, takes place every year, but the main procession (Shinko Matsuri) goes out only once every two years. In 2026 (Reiwa 8) the festival runs 7 to 17 June, and the main procession goes out on 12 June.
Good to know
- At the entrance from the Sanno side (Exit 7 of Tameike-Sanno) there is an escalator beside the stairs, rare at a Japanese shrine, for anyone who finds the stairs hard.
- The Diet building and the government ministries sit around the shrine. On weekdays it is full of office workers, and on weekends it is quiet.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Hie Shrine.
- HereHie Shrine
- ~10 min
National Diet Building, House of Representatives tour More to see
A guided tour of the parliament building. Individuals come in without booking ahead, through the side gate of the House of Representatives, and must register by 16:00. On weekends and holidays tours leave at 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 13:00, 14:00 and 15:00. There are no tours before or during plenary sessions.
- ~10 min
Hotel New Otani Japanese Garden More to see
A Japanese garden of about 33 thousand square meters inside the outer moat of Edo Castle, with a 6-meter waterfall and a pond with about 350 carp. Lit in the evening from about half an hour before sunset.
- ~10 min
Hitotsugi-dori Akasaka Street
The long-established shopping and restaurant street of Akasaka: izakaya, yakitori and old sweet shops like Shirotae. Relatively quiet.
- ~12 min
Toraya Akasaka Shopping
The main store of Toraya, a maker of Japanese sweets whose signature product is yokan, a sweet bar of red bean paste.
- ~12 min
Akasaka Sacas, TBS Biz Tower Shops & Dining Food
A commercial complex around the TBS television building, with Italian, Spanish, Belgian, Singaporean, Chinese and Korean restaurants, and an official TBS shop.