A very impressive shrine in Ueno Park. You have to pay an entrance fee to get inside the gates but it's absolutely worth it in my opinion. There's a platform where you can take a rest while looking at the beautiful old camphor tree. The carvings of the gate, fence and shrine building are stunning. Highly recommended.

The previous time we were here in 2018 the place was closed for renovation. This trip we were glad it was opened and so formed part of out Ueno Park visit, on a Thursday early afternoon in late-Nov 23.. The renowned Shrine was listed as a National Treasure and was constructed in 651, dedicated to the shogun Tokugawa leyasu. Subsequently a second Toshogu Shrine was located in Nikko and both were built by leyasu's grandson. I have not been to Nikko one but its famed as reached must-visit status. 😊 Not difficult to find there were well crafted out path with stone lanterns leading to the shrine. The Shrine is famous for its decorated structures, the carvings of the gate & fence are stunning, not often we encountered such beauty after visiting close to 100 shrines (and reviewing them) over the past years! The pillars of the gate are decorated with two carved dragons, from google we noted that they are known as Noboriryu (Ascending Dragon) and Kudariryu (Descending Dragon), Quite a spacious premise with trees that blossom with differing seasons. Popular souvenirs among tourists from the shrine include charms for good luck, happiness, love or longevity and amulets. Many visitors come to the shrine to pray for good fortune, such as passing examinations, longevity, and recovery from illness. For us we were here more to simply admire the characteristics & beauty of traditional Japanese architecture, took lotsa of photos too. We made some quick prayers for a safe trip home & left. A good experience & trip for us all.

The outer shrine was extremely crowded and the path to it lined with food stalls and tables, which made it a very cramped entrance. The outer shrine is nice. We paid to go into the inner shrine (although you can't go inside the building). It's impressive with the gold leaf but it was pricey compared to other more impressive/larger shrines. I don't regret paying to go in as there were hardly any other people which was a relief, but it was very a small.