What other travelers are saying about Yasukuni Shrine
A beautiful and vast shrine with a presence. The large tori gate greeting you as you enter the shrine makes this temple unique among the temple in Tokyo. When you enter the temple, you are greeted with a large public area with many sections to explore. Going near the end of the day is unique as you get to see the sun setting over the tori gate and the temple.
It's beautiful. The shrine is dedicated to the respect of all those who died fighting for Japan from the Meiji Era onward. There is the shrine proper, the Yushukan a museum to preserve the memory of the kami, an archive, a beautiful garden and several monuments.
The shrine is very important and there is a lot of people there during the day. The best time to be there is very early in the morning.
Founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 to commemorate those who died in service for Japan.
The shrine contains names of almost 2,5 million men including one thousand war criminals there of whom 12 were charged with class A crimes.
Because of this controversy the last two emperors never visited the shrine.
There's also a military museum adjacent to the shrine.
It is a very large and beautifully laid out temple complex, with a museum about Japanese history, various restaurants and stalls. Definitely very impressive and worth a visit.
Very beautiful and peaceful place. They were doing construction before an event so there was scaffolding, but even that was pretty. Inside the museum is a nice gift shop and a pretty public toilet. Quick note, if you want to take a photo of the shrine, take it from the side near the gravel (or the guard will politely remind you).
