Yasukuni-jinja Shrine — Attraction in Tokyo

This shrine is apparently made after the world wars and remembrance for us. The place is very very big and neat after the newly designed parking lots and shops. In summer there is 3 days summer festival (the picture attached below) which is very awesome and very Japanese alike. very very famous one too. I enjoyed the festival, but there are a few problems... THERE ARE TOO MANY PEOPLE!!! You can hardly walk around freely. And also because this summer festival is famous and many people come, food and drink is so so so expensive, for example, you can get Coca-Cola at the convenience store at like 150yen (dollar and 50cents or so)but if you want to get it summer pop up shops, they cost like 400yen (which is like 4doller and 20cents) and that is hella expensive. Apart from those summer festival issues, the overall rating is 4 out of 5. And that is pretty decent in my opinion. And if you go on the not festive season (excluding summer festival, New Years’ greetings and end of war remembrance day) the atmosphere is very very nice. And also you can enjoy old Japanese culture and quietness. Enjoy Japan and Tokyo!! Enjoy...

As mentioned by others, this museum is quite controversial due to its enshrinement of WW2 war criminals. It also offered an alternative viewpoint from the losing party; the Japanese. The visitor, IMO, should keep an open mind on the exhibits and information displayed. Good range of military artifacts, from samurai weapons and armour from the warring periods, to the pseudo-western uniforms of the late 19th century. The main attractions will be the great variety of Imperial Japanese Navy equipment, naval guns, torpedoes, a restored Zero fighter, an extremely rare Suisei dive bomber and the numerous navy scale models. A gallery of the fallen is on display on the walls and covers a wide range of military personnel, from the infantryman and kamikaze pilots to the female auxiliaries and nurses. A definite must-see if you are into military history, especially if you are a WW2 buff. Entrance fee is ¥800 if you want to explore the whole museum. Expect to spend half...

It is a pretty shrine, surrounded by pretty Sakura in full bloom during my visit.

As pretty as it is, it is also controversial. I have added two photos of a leaflet that was distributed in the shrine.

It is a painful reminder of how humans are manipulated into offering their lives. It is a sad reminder that many young ones perished in faraway lands for nothing but ''the country that they loved'. It is an angering reminder that those young ones took the lives of innocents and those who defended their country against invaders. It is an alarming reminder that their actions are still glorified by this shrine.

Take a moment and ask yourself what a 23 year old was doing in China, for what purpose and how necessary his death was. Being elevated does not have to mean to blindly discard the value of your life for 'the country that you love'.

Let this shrine be an important reminder that peace must be preserved and let it not be a glorification of...