Meiji Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue — photo by Dick Thomas Johnson from Tokyo, Japan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Meiji Jingu Gaien Ginkgo Avenue 2026 Confirmed

明治神宮外苑いちょう並木 — Tokyo (Kanto)

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The ginkgo avenue at Meiji Jingu Gaien is Tokyo's single most photographed autumn scene: about 300 meters of towering ginkgo trees pruned into perfect golden spires, lining a straight boulevard that frames the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery at its far end. The trees turn deep yellow from mid-November to early December, carpeting the sidewalks in gold. It's free, it's in the middle of the city, and an autumn festival with food stalls typically runs alongside the peak weeks — which is also why weekend sidewalks are shoulder-to-shoulder.

Background

The avenue was planted in the 1920s as part of the Meiji Jingu Outer Garden, a Western-style landscaped precinct built to honor Emperor Meiji. The trees were deliberately graded in height toward the Picture Gallery to exaggerate the perspective — a piece of landscape design that still works a century later.

Getting there

The avenue runs between Aoyama-dori and the Meiji Memorial Picture Gallery: two minutes from Aoyama-itchome Station (Ginza, Hanzomon, and Oedo lines) or five from Gaienmae Station (Ginza Line). JR travelers can walk about ten minutes from Shinanomachi Station. No car needed or advisable — there is no meaningful parking.

Tips

• Go at opening light on a weekday morning — by 10am on peak weekends the avenue is packed and the classic centered shot requires patience.
• Entry is free; if the ginkgo festival is running, the food stalls make an easy lunch stop.
• Shoot from the Aoyama-dori end looking toward the Picture Gallery — the height-graded trees create the postcard perspective in that direction only.
• The yellow peaks slightly later than most Tokyo foliage; late November is usually the sweet spot, and the golden carpet after leaf-fall in early December is its own second act.

Maintained by Tetsu Yamamoto · Last verified against the official source: Mon, July 6, 2026