I visited the Meiji shrine for the first time in 1968, and remember a little kiosk where a vendor was boiling and selling squid on a stick. Today it's a different and much more busy and commercial environment around the shrine, easily reached by subway or commuter train. None of the buildings on the right of the street existed back then, and the station has been rebuilt to handle much greater traffic volume.

 

 

 

 

Someone clearly had a very good day

At the bottom: prayer tablets that can be had for a donation and the individual will write a wish or prayer on the back and then hang the tablet here, in this case under the large tree

 

The shrine

 

The inner court of the shrine

 

 

 

 

I am sure you figured it out - getting hitched in the traditional way

 

Who cares what those weirdos are doing, we've got rocks

 

All shrines have this, a place to cleanse oneself - hands, typically

 

An important award function for US military volunteers of all branches that are donating time to the surrounding Japanese communities