Every traveler has that place.
The one they find themselves returning to every single trip.
Not because it’s the biggest attraction. Not because it’s the most famous.
But because somewhere along the way, it became part of their story. For me, Japan has two of those places.
The first is Meiji Shrine.
It’s funny to think that one of the busiest cities in the world surrounds it. Just outside the gates, Tokyo moves at full speed. Trains arrive every few minutes. Crowds fill the sidewalks. The energy of the city never seems to stop.
Then you walk beneath the towering torii gate.
Almost immediately, everything changes.
The noise fades into the background. The towering buildings disappear behind the trees. The gravel beneath your feet replaces the sound of traffic, and every step feels just a little slower than the last.
It’s a place that has always centered me.
Every time I return to Japan, I find myself making the walk back to Meiji Shrine. It isn’t because I feel obligated to see it again. It’s because it reminds me why I came in the first place.
For a little while, everything becomes quiet.
Even with tourists and locals sharing the same paths, there’s a sense of peace that’s difficult to describe. It’s as if the city respectfully pauses around it.
It has become my way of telling myself,
“You’re back.”
The second place is Mori Tower in Roppongi.
Years ago, Roppongi was the first neighborhood I ever called home in Tokyo.
Everything was new back then.
The train stations.
The streets.
The language.
The excitement.
And then I took the elevator to the observation deck.
I still remember stepping out and seeing Tokyo stretch in every direction, without end.
There wasn’t a single moment that made me realize how enormous the city truly was quite like that one.
It wasn’t just a skyline.
It was possibility.
Looking out over millions of people, neighborhoods I had never heard of, and places I couldn’t wait to explore, I knew I had fallen in love with Japan before the trip had even ended.
That’s a feeling you never forget.
Now, every time I return, I make my way back to Mori Tower.
The view hasn’t changed all that much.
Tokyo is still endless.
The buildings are still packed tightly together.
The city still hums with the same energy.
But I have changed.
Each visit reminds me of the traveler who stood there for the very first time, overwhelmed by what he was seeing and wondering what the rest of Japan had in store.
I smile because now I know.
Maybe that’s why we all have places we return to.
They aren’t just locations.
They’re milestones.
They remind us where our story with a destination began.
For me, Meiji Shrine helps me settle into Japan.
Mori Tower reminds me why I keep coming back.
And I have a feeling that no matter how many times I return to Tokyo, those two places will always be waiting for me.
Not because they need me to visit.
But because every great journey deserves a place that feels like coming home.
Travels With Matt Blog 