Opening hours over New Year
The shrine's own visitor page lists hours that follow sunrise and sunset, month by month. They are the ones that apply on either side of the New Year's Eve opening:
| Month | Opens | Closes |
|---|---|---|
| December | 6:40 | 16:00 |
| January | 6:40 | 16:20 |
| February | 6:20 | 16:50 |
Admission is free. Inside the grounds, facilities such as the amulet office keep shorter hours, "mainly 9:00 am to 4:00 pm".
The shrine's English site had no New Year notice when we checked on 23 October 2026, and its Topics page was still being prepared. The overnight opening comes from GO TOKYO, the Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau's official guide, whose hatsumode page (updated 3 February 2026, covering New Year 2026, so 31 December 2025) says the shrine is "open all night on December 31". JR East's article for New Year 2025 also says the shrine did not close overnight on 31 December 2024. Treat that as the established pattern and check for a 2027 notice in late December.
How crowded it gets, and when
GO TOKYO says Meiji Jingu draws several million people between New Year's Eve and 3 January. In 2027, 1 January, a public holiday, is a Friday and 2 and 3 January fall on the weekend.
The shrine publishes no hourly crowd figures. A Japanese rail news site's 2025–26 guide (Tetsudo Channel, 29 December 2025) put the 1 January peaks at midnight to 3:00 and 11:00 to 15:00, suggested about 6:00 to 8:00 as calmer, and recommended early morning or evening on 2 and 3 January. It also reported Metropolitan Police traffic controls around Harajuku Station from 21:00 on 31 December to 18:00 on 1 January, and 9:00 to 18:00 on 2 and 3 January. Those are press-reported, last-season figures, not official forecasts.
Getting there: stations and the walk in
GO TOKYO lists three stations for the shrine:
- Harajuku on the JR Yamanote Line, about 1 minute on foot
- Meiji-jingumae on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda and Fukutoshin lines, about 1 minute
- Sangubashi on the Odakyu Line, about 3 minutes
Those times are to the shrine entrance. The shrine's access page adds that it takes at least another ten minutes to walk from the entrance to the main shrine buildings, and on crowded days the queue makes that much longer. Bicycles are not allowed in the grounds, and wheelchairs are available at the entrance.
Before you go
Bring cash. The shrine's Q&A says the amulet office, the Kaguraden and the goshuin (shrine stamp) counter do not take credit cards; only the restaurants and gift shop do.
Plan the rest of the holiday around year-end closures, which vary by venue; our Tokyo National Museum guide lists that museum's closed days. If you are heading to Kyoto or Osaka over the holiday, read our New Year Shinkansen guide before you book.
