At the end of the two torii, I saw a businessman who had just come up the steep stairs

Torii gate and worshipper in Shinagawa Shrine

Near the north exit of Keikyu Shinbanba Station, there is a shopping street called Kitabanba Sando Street. As the name suggests, this is the approach to Shinagawa Shrine and used to be a temple town. It was not only a shopping street but also a part of Shinagawa-juku, one of the 53 stations along the Tokaido highway. Shinagawa-juku was a large station that stretched from Keikyu Kitashinagawa to Aomono-Yokocho beyond Shinbanba, which is the current railroad station.

There was a large gate (in Chinese culture, it is called a Paifang, but what is this called in Japan?) and I could feel they want to rebuild the atmosphere of the bygone days. However, these efforts have not been very fruitful. As I crossed the gate and approached Shinagawa Shrine, the busy Daiichi Keihin and Keikyu elevated lines ruined the lively atmosphere.

Since Shinagawa Shrine and Kitabanba approach street are separated by the busy Daiichi Keihin and Keikyu elevated railway lines, the originally united Monzenmachi, a temple town, and Shinagawa Shrine look completely different. What a waste. The elevated hill where the shrine sits, which is supposed to be visible from the end of the shopping arcade, is also obscured from the shopping arcade by the elevated train line. The shopping street would have been much nicer if it had a sense of unity with the shrine.

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