Tokyo Days 15 - Hie Shrine

Finishing work relatively early on this final day of the week, I decided it would be nice to head out to a nearby, Hie Shrine for a change. What more, there was supposed to be a Matsuri (festival) that was going to be held for its final day there. I was pretty excited as I had not been to a true summer Matsuri before! With just slightly over a kilometer between me and the shrine, I headed out on my way. 

Tonaromon Hills, the tallest building in the Minato district at 51 floors tall. It is indeed quite a sight to behold.

Constructions were always popping up in every corner of Tokyo but, actually years of planning first goes into each building before it is erected!

A short walk later and here it is, the main entrance to Hie Shrine. These large entrances are apparently called "tori" although, I have yet to find out the meaning of it.

The stairs up may look daunting but, nothing compared to that of Atago Shrine's steps.

Usually made of wood, this main entrance is made of concrete marking its significance as a landmark shrine.

These traditional lanterns would be lit come nightfall.

The main shrine entrance was really impressive

What it lacked in size it made up details, everything was so meticulously painted and detailed.

The gate looks even better from the inside of the shrine's courtyard with clear blue skies serving as a perfect backdrop.

Unfortunately, there was no matsuri in sight as I had gone far too early in the evening.

In fact, many of the preparations were still ongoing. The palanquins you see in the picture above you are the Mikoshi that would be carried by the participants later in the night's processions.

While the shrine was not a very large one, it was still an equally important one to the denizens of Tokyo, as the deity worshiped in this shrine is responsible for watching over the people of Tokyo.

With that, I headed on my way back as I had planned to pay a visit to Akiba later in the night.

Along the way I bumped into many important government buildings including, the National Diet Library. Apparently the largest library in Japan with every Japanese publication till date.

The government and administrative building surrounding Hie Shrine's area were indeed a far cry from what  I was used to seeing in the city.

On my way back, I stumbled upon a large number of students protesting in front of the Ministry of Education's building. The reason? While I was not able to make it out completely, it had to do with the discrimination of Korean-Japanese students within the education system. While I have heard of such matters before, it was the first time for me to witness such an event. Later that evening, I paid a quick visit to Akiba but, with their strict no photos policy there really was not much I could report on. Until the next time, thanks for reading and have yourself a wonderful day ahead!