Enjoy Sightseeing, Shopping, and Great Food Around the Meguro River! 9 Popular Spots in Meguro

If you are visiting Meguro, spring is the season we recommend, when the cherry blossoms are at their best.
Along the Meguro River, one of Tokyo’s top cherry blossom spots, around 800 cherry trees bloom over a stretch of Approx. 4 km.
At night, the cherry blossoms are illuminated, and many food stalls line the riverside. Enjoy cherry blossom viewing along with sightseeing in Meguro.

The table below summarizes how to get to Nakameguro Station from major stations in Tokyo and the travel time required.
Meguro has several stations, but if you plan to sightsee around the Meguro River, Nakameguro Station is the most recommended.
Access from the Yokohama area is also convenient, taking Approx. 35 minutes from Yokohama Station.

The main ways to get around while sightseeing in Meguro are by train and on foot.
It is common to explore areas such as Nakameguro and Jiyugaoka, where many restaurants and shops are gathered, on foot, and use the train when traveling between areas.

The Meguro River is a river that flows through Setagaya City, Meguro City, and Shinagawa City in Tokyo before emptying into Tokyo Bay.
Along Approx. 4 km of the river from near Ikejiri-Ohashi Station on the Tokyu Den-en-toshi Line to the Shimomeguro area, a row of Approx. 800 cherry trees, mainly Somei Yoshino, continues along the banks.
Lined with unique cafes and restaurants, the riverside is one of Tokyo’s most stylish areas.

A research museum specializing in parasites, and one of a kind even on a global level.
It was founded by Dr. Satoru Kamegai for parasite research and for education and awareness to prevent parasitic diseases.
The first and second floors of the building are exhibition rooms, displaying Approx. 300 fluid-preserved specimens and related materials.
In addition to the permanent exhibition, various special exhibitions and events are also held regularly, introducing the mysteries and fascination of parasites.

Otori Shrine is the oldest shrine in Meguro City, Tokyo, with a history of Approx. 1,200 years and origins dating back to the Heian period.
It is also recorded on Chouroku Edo-zu, the oldest known map of Edo drawn in the Muromachi period. Since only nine shrines appear on this Edo map, it is counted among the “Edo Nine Shrines.”
It is also famous for Tori-no-Ichi, held on the Day of the Rooster in November to pray for business prosperity and good fortune, an event whose origins date back to the Edo period, just like the Tori-no-Ichi in Asakusa.

The former residence of Prince Asaka, built in 1933 in the Art Deco style, was opened as an art museum in 1983.
In 2015, the main building, front gate, tea house, and other structures were designated as Important Cultural Properties of Japan.
Highlights inside include the main entrance with its glass relief doors by French glass artist René Lalique and the grand hall, whose calm and stately design makes a strong impression.

Ryusenji Temple, said to have been founded in 808, is known as Meguro Fudoson and has a history of more than 1,200 years.
The spring water that welled up from the place where Jikaku Daishi is said to have thrown a ritual implement when deciding where to build the temple hall can still be seen in the grounds today as Dokko no Taki Waterfall.
In front of the Niomon Gate of Meguro Fudoson is Takimi Chaya, where you can relax with matcha, pudding, roasted sweet potatoes, and more at table seats, terrace seats, or raised tatami seating.

Gohyaku Rakanji Temple has long been loved by many people as “Meguro no Rakansan.” It was originally built in what is now Koto City in 1695, moved to Sumida City in 1887, and relocated to its current site in 1908.
The rakan statues, once said to number more than 500, were carved over more than a decade by the Zen priest and sculptor Shoun Genkei, using donations collected while begging for alms in Edo.
Today, 305 statues remain, and together with the wooden Shaka Triad, they are designated as Tangible Cultural Properties of Tokyo.

Japan’s first museum dedicated to photography and moving images, it fully opened in 1995. It is located within the Ebisu Garden Place complex.
Its exhibitions mainly consist of collection exhibitions and special exhibitions, introducing a wide range of photographic and video works from Japan and abroad across three exhibition rooms and a hall.
Its collection includes more than 37,000 works, systematically covering everything from pieces that convey the dawn of photography and video to the latest works by contemporary artists.

A shrine in fashionable Jiyugaoka that has long been deeply revered as the local guardian shrine.
In the Kamakura period, pilgrimages to the Kumano Sanzan in Wakayama (Kumano Hongu Taisha, Kumano Hayatama Taisha, and Kumano Nachi Taisha) became popular among common people as well, and because records of such pilgrimages from the Meguro area have been found, it is said that the shrine was founded by enshrining divided spirits from the three sacred sites.

A distinctive circular rooftop garden with a circumference of 400 m, created as a city park by making use of the rooftop area of the Metropolitan Expressway’s Ohashi Junction.
The loop-shaped garden, designed to match the shape of the junction, has an elevation difference of 11 m to 35 m and can be accessed from various points and by various means, including ground level, pedestrian bridges, and elevators.
Its many themed areas are connected by small paths, creating scenery that makes you forget you are in the middle of the city.

A stylish yakiniku restaurant that opened in November 2023, just a 2-minute walk from Nakameguro Station.
To deliver the true deliciousness of wagyu to the fullest, it offers only carefully thought-out course meals.
The standout course includes 11 luxurious dishes, such as premium salted tongue, thick-cut Japanese black wagyu filet steak, and rib roast, letting you enjoy a carefully selected feast.

Torishiki is a yakitori restaurant opened in 2007 by Yoshiteru Ikegawa, the lead craftsman of the Torishiki ICHIMON group. It is so famous that it has been featured in numerous media outlets, has held one Michelin star for over 10 years, and is even called “the hardest yakitori restaurant in Japan to book.”
The first thing that catches your eye is the exterior. At first glance, it hardly looks like a yakitori restaurant, welcoming guests with a refined atmosphere full of character.

A hideaway-style fine dining restaurant located on the basement floor of the complex facility the GARDEN, which houses unique shops of many kinds, including a stylish flower shop and a bookstore with a distinctive theme.
In a solid, chic blue-gray space designed to minimize visual information so guests can focus all five senses on the food, you can enjoy refined, modern, and vibrant dishes by chef Yuichi Mukasa.

A specialty coffee shop with other locations in Okusawa, Yakumo, and Nakameguro.
Popular for the delicious coffee brewed by its baristas, it uses beans purchased directly from farmers in producing regions such as Colombia and Ethiopia and roasted in-house.
Opened in April 2022 along Jiyugaoka Green Road, this branch stands out for its natural style full of wood warmth and the calm atmosphere that suits Jiyugaoka.

A sister shop of the popular Omotesando cafe and bakery Bread, Espresso &.
The interior, with its flowing walls inspired by clouds, leaves a strong impression and offers a cozy space where you can relax at warm wooden tables or on the open terrace.
Especially popular here are the sweets made with their signature cube-shaped bread, “Muu.” You can enjoy its rich, buttery flavor in treats such as fluffy French toast and tiramisu made from the crusts.

TRAVELER'S COMPANY is the maker of the “TRAVELER'S notebook,” a notebook that makes you want to take it along when you head out on a journey.
Tucked away on a backstreet in Nakameguro, Tokyo, TRAVELER'S FACTORY was created in 2011 when the company renovated a former paper processing factory into the flagship store for the TRAVELER'S notebook.

A bookstore located in the Nakameguro Koukashita commercial complex, which opened in 2016. The interior is divided into four distinctive zones.
The “Meet Zone,” closest to the station, offers a wide selection of magazines, cosmetics,雑貨, and gifts. Its counter seats, also convenient for meeting up, are equipped with USB charging ports.

A shopping mall that opened along Gakuen-dori in Jiyugaoka in October 2023. It is a new kind of urban mall based on a fresh concept, different from the suburban-style malls that AEON Mall has developed in the past.
The mall has 2 basement floors and 4 above-ground floors, housing 27 stores that enrich daily life, including restaurants and cafes, food retail shops, lifestyle goods, and interior stores.

A popular interior and lifestyle goods shop along Gakuen-dori, which extends north from Jiyugaoka Station, centered on the theme of “DIY for food and living.” In addition to Tokyo locations such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, and Futako-Tamagawa, it also has stores in Kyoto and Kobe.
Across two floors, the first and second, it offers a carefully selected lineup of high-quality items, including tableware, kitchen goods, food, clothing, and stationery.

Hotel Gajoen Tokyo was created in 2017 through the rebranding of Meguro Gajoen.
Once you step inside, you will be struck by the lavish Japanese paintings and craftworks displayed throughout the building, showcasing the brilliance of culture and history.
All 60 guest rooms are suites with spaces of at least 80 square meters. Along with quiet, high-quality interiors incorporating the spirit of wabi and sabi, they are also equipped with steam saunas and jet baths. The rich and calming setting leaves both body and mind fulfilled.

Conveniently located a 3-minute walk from Meguro Station along Gonnosuke-zaka, this hotel is ideal for sightseeing around Tokyo. From Meguro Station, popular areas such as Roppongi, Shibuya, and Harajuku can be reached by train in under 10 minutes.
Meguro City, where the hotel is located, has many shrines and temples, and there are also plenty of attractions near the hotel, including the Meguro Seven Lucky Gods pilgrimage route, Catholic Himonya Church (Salesio Church), Meguro Sky Garden, and the Meguro River, one of Tokyo’s top cherry blossom viewing spots in spring.