Kon’nichiwa!
I stumbled upon the mini torii tunnel at Hanazono Shrine by accident. This is yet another example of small shrines and temples that you can find all over Tokyo. There really are so many.
If you are planning to be in Shinjuku, going to the Hanazono Shrine is an easy way to walk through a bunch of bright red torii shrine gates in Tokyo. On the Hanazono Shrine grounds, you will find the mini torii tunnel that is part of the smaller Itoku Inari Shrine.
Let’s learn Japanese! TORII = shrine gate!
The Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku is literally just minutes by foot from one of the busiest areas of Tokyo, in Shinjuku, and it was a completely quiet experience. There was even a couple who pretty much was able to do a private photo shoot in front of a picturesque shrine with no random strangers getting in their picture. It was in the middle of the afternoon too.
Of course, there’s no guarantee it will be empty when you go, but I was pretty surprised how empty it was considering it’s right in the middle of one of Tokyo’s busiest neighborhoods.
It seems like sometimes there are special events at Hanazono Shrine, in which case you can expect crowds. But whether there are people or not, it’s a quick and easy stop to make if you are in Shinjuku.
I’ll give you the quick walk-through below that I did through the shrine.
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JAPAN TRAVEL > TOKYO MAP | TOKYO TORII GATES
Side note!
Shinjuku tour you must consider to get to know Tokyo better!
Tokyo food tour: 13 dishes at 4 local food spots
It can be intimidating to go to the Shinjuku food alleys on your own. Do a Shinjuku food tour on your first evening, so you’ll feel like a pro the rest of your trip!
Read the reviews on getyourguide or viator.
Walking around Hanazono Shrine
I also made an interactive map for the famous things to do around Hanazono Shrine. If you want to go straight to the map, here you go: Hanazono Shrine map
Hanazono Shrine is just a short walk from popular Shinjuku streets like the Golden Gai alley (a few minutes) and Omoide Yokocho alley (10 minutes). These are Shinjuku’s famous evening food spots. It is also near Godzilla Road (5-10 minute walk), which is the famous street in the Kabukicho neighborhood that you walk down to see the Godzilla Head at Hotel Gracery Shinjuku. These are some of the most well-known streets and areas of Shinjuku.
About 10 minutes away from the shrine is also Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, one of the most famous gardens in Tokyo. A bit further away, a 20-30 minute walk from the shrine will get you to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, where you can go up to an observation deck to get vast city views of Tokyo for free.
You can check the official Hanazono Shrine website for special events. There are festivals in January, February, May, June, August, November, and December.
Okay, here’s my discovery of the Hanazono Shrine torii tunnel in Shinjuku!
👆 Walking along a main road in Shinjuku, and oh hey! There’s a torii shrine gate that’s practically hidden!
👆 So I head to the shrine gate that I saw. As it turns out, this is not the main shrine gate entrance, but it is one way to get to it.
👆 This is the path through the shrine gate that’s along the road.
👆 The path is lined with Chinese lions.
And speaking of China, you can see a Chinese temple at Yokohama Chinatown which can be a day trip from Tokyo.
👆 More shrine gates. This time red ones.
👆 And through the final shrine gate. (For now.)
👆 There was a Hanazono Shrine map in Japanese, which you can read in English with the google translate app using the camera option.
👆 And once I got past the entrance path… there’s a mini torii tunnel like right there! It’s a part of the Itoku Inari Shrine.
👆 Walking into the row of bright red shrine gates.
👆 The torii tunnel is pretty short and the length doesn’t compare at all to the most famous torii tunnel in Japan, but it’s still fun!
For more torii tunnel fun in Tokyo, you can also walk through a torii tunnel in Akasaka as well as a torii tunnel at Ueno Park.
👆 At the end of the torii tunnel is the main part of the Itoku Inari Shrine.
👆 There are inari fox statues.
👆 It’s 3:30pm and there’s almost no one around at the main shrine building (worship hall) of Hanazono Shrine.
The Hanazono Shrine has a long history in Shinjuku, since at least the early 1600s. You can read more about the Hanazono Shrine history (using the translate option on your device).
👆 The great big torii gate at Hanazono Shrine is one of the tallest shrine gates in Shinjuku. For the grand entrance, this is the big red torii gate to enter through that will give you a more dramatic welcome! It’s the shrine entrance on another road.
And speaking of big shrine gates, you can see an even bigger one in Shibuya at Meiji Jingu Shrine. Cultural Tokyo day for you: Meiji Jingu Shrine to Hie Shrine torii tunnel to Sensoji Temple!
👆 I went back the same way I came. Back to the roads of Shinjuku!
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Hanazono Shrine map
👇 Explore the interactive map below of what’s around Hanazono Shrine! Zoom in to get started and click on the icons for details!
If you are having problems viewing or using the map, you can view it directly on google maps.
JAPAN TRAVEL > Tokyo map | Tokyo torii gates
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