Meiji Jingū Gaien, Ginkgo Avenue

photo by Dick Thomas Johnson · CC BY 2.0

The avenue has 146 ginkgo trees planted in 1923: the municipality ruled out felling them in 2024.

Four rows of ginkgo (146 trees planted in 1923, now up to 28 metres tall) run for about 300 metres to the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery, with a deliberate perspective effect: the trees get shorter towards the far end of the avenue. The golden colour arrives between the end of November and the beginning of December, when the avenue gets crowded even on weekdays.

The avenue lies in the Meiji Jingū Gaien, the outer garden dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shōken, presented to the shrine on 22 October 1926 with donations and volunteer labour gathered from all over Japan. The wider Gaien area is the subject of a redevelopment project (a new stadium and other facilities, with completion expected in 2036) that has stirred controversy over the felling of trees: the ginkgo avenue is excluded from it in writing, following a formal request from Tokyo Prefecture to the developer.

ℹ️ Public park, free, always open: there is no specific closing time for the avenue alone. The stretch is in Minato-ku, Kita-Aoyama; the wider Gaien area also extends into Shinjuku-ku. In peak season nearby restaurants often require a booking.

🚉 Aoyama-itchome · 6 min walk

Sources: meijijingugaien.jp · weathernews.jp · koyo.walkerplus.com

All series · Open the map