The Best Things to Do and See in Shinagawa, Tokyo

The large mature trees at Rinshi no Mori Park attract a wide variety of birds and wildlife. It doesn’t hurt that the habitat includes streams and ponds where they can cool off in the summer months. With several playgrounds and a wading pond for the kids as well, it’s a great place for families.

Enshrined at Shinagawa Shrine is the patron god and protector of Northern Shinagawa. This shrine’s major festival occurs every year in June, when worshippers carry the mikoshi (portable shrine) up the shrine’s 53 stone steps.

During the Edo Period, the Tokugawa Shogunate regularly executed criminals, traitors, and Christians at execution sites like this one. The Suzugamori Execution Grounds are well preserved and are an interesting lesson in Japanese history.

Honsen-ji, an important Daigo Sect Buddhist Temple, is affiliated with the Kyoto temple of the same name. Honsen-ji can trace its history back to the Heian Period. It’s famous for its many statues, including one of Kannon and one of the Buddha, as well as its 600-year-old gingko tree.

The hundred-year-old main building of Seisen University was once the residence of a Taisho Era duke, built in 1917. The property was sold off in the early Showa, and the university moved in during 1962. Now the Shimazu Family Old Residence and the ancient Taiwanese maple tree on the premises are considered Important Cultural Assets.

The Takamura Signboard Museum works to preserve a very unique aspect of Japanese history – signage. The museum features all kind of shop signs, decorative signs, ads, and more from the Edo Era up to the early Showa Period.