Yanaka Cemetery

This one is quite different from the rest, as we are visiting one of Tokyo’s most remarkable cemeteries—not only for its beauty, but also for its historical significance. Many key figures from the Meiji era lie here—painters, sculptors, and statesmen, as well as the last shogun of the Edo period, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. To your right, a gated section is dedicated entirely to the Tokugawa clan, who ruled Japan for over two and a half centuries. The family of each shogun rests here. Next to the cemetery stands Tennoji Temple, a Buddhist temple that once owned this land until 1868, when Buddhism and Shintoism were officially seperated at the start of the Meiji era. Public cemeteries had to be built for Shinto burials, and Yanaka Cemetery was one of the first of its kind, despite some parts still belonging to nearby temples today. Anyway, you’ll find over 7 000 graves in this cemetery, spread across more than 10 hectares surrounded by blooming cherry blossoms when in spring. If you’re not afraid of cemeteries, take your time wandering around this landscape whose keywords are memory and remembrance. Somewhere along the way, you’ll come across the remains of a five-story pagoda, one that inspired famous writer Koda Rohan who wrote a novel about it in 1892. Tragically, the pagoda was destroyed by fire in 1957, set by two lovers who took their own lives inside. It was never rebuilt—but its stones remain.