Tokyo · Ueno and Yanaka
Nezu Shrine
According to the shrine, it was founded more than 1,900 years ago in nearby Sendagi. Today's site was the estate of Tokugawa Tsunashige, and his son, later the sixth shogun Ienobu, was born there. When the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi, named Ienobu as his heir, he donated the estate to the shrine and built the present buildings on it, completed in 1706.
Seven buildings from that construction still stand, and all are registered as Important Cultural Properties of Japan: the main hall, the offering hall, the worship hall, the Kara-mon gate, the west gate, the openwork fence and the two-story Romon gate. All are in real lacquer. The 1945 bombings damaged some of the buildings, and restoration was completed in 1962. According to the shrine, the Romon is the only two-story shrine gate from the Edo period left in Tokyo.
On the west side a slope rises with a dense path of red torii gates, donated over the years, up to the Otome Inari Shrine, built on a platform above the pond. The azalea garden is on this slope: according to the city, about 100 varieties and 3,000 bushes, open to the public only during the festival in April. The writers Natsume Soseki and Mori Ogai were members of the shrine's community, and in the grounds there is a stone that, according to the shrine, they used to sit on during their walks.
Good to know
- The Bunkyo Azalea Festival runs every April for the whole month (in 2026: 1 to 30 April, 09:00 to 17:30). In April the neighborhood is full, and on weekends at peak bloom there is a line for the garden.
- The 'Maihime' house in the grounds is the house where Mori Ogai wrote the story 'The Dancing Girl'. It was moved here from an inn that closed in 2020 and reopened in 2025. Open only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays, 10:00 to 16:30, and closed on 25 and 31 October 2026 for ceremonies.
- The special autumn goshuin stamp is sold from 22 September to 30 November 2026, in limited numbers.
- The torii path is narrow. Take photos from its lower end, facing the pond, and do not block the way.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Nezu Shrine.
- HereNezu Shrine
- ~5 min
Nezu Kamachiku Food
Udon in a brick warehouse from 1910, renovated by the architect Kengo Kuma, with a garden. From Tuesday to Saturday they serve kama-age udon, hot noodles in a wooden pot, and on Sunday and Monday kake udon in broth. Reservations for evenings only.
- ~7 min
Hantei Nezu Food
Kushiage: more than thirty kinds of breaded fried skewers, served one after another, with raw vegetables and the house meat miso. The building is a three-story Meiji-era structure of zelkova wood that survived the 1923 earthquake and is a registered cultural property. You can book a table online.
- ~9 min
Isetatsu Yanaka Shopping
A publisher of chiyogami paper, paper decorated with traditional Japanese patterns, founded in 1864.
- ~11 min
Nezu no Ya Food
A natural foods shop with a restaurant at the back: a vegan Japanese meal with brown rice that changes every day, and cake. Vegan, not kosher. No reservations.
- ~15 min
Yanaka Ginza Street
A shopping street of 170 meters in a neighborhood that was only lightly damaged by the earthquake and the bombings: 60 small shops, menchi k