Omotesandō (表参道) is an avenue, subway station and neighborhood in the Minato and Shibuya wards in Tokyo stretching from Harajuku station, specifically, the foot of Takeshita Street, to Aoyama-dōri where Omotesandō station can be found. Zelkova trees line both sides of the avenue. Around 100,000 cars drive down the main street daily.[citation needed]
Omotesandō was originally created as the frontal (表 Omote) approach (参道 Sandō) to Meiji Shrine, when the Shrine was dedicated in the Taishō era.
Today, Omotesandō is known as one of the foremost 'architectural
showcase' streets in the world, featuring a multitude of fashion
flagship stores within a short distance of each other. It is an upscale shopping area. Every year Omotesandō is the venue for Tokyo's Saint Patrick's Day Parade.
A sandō (参道 visiting road) in Japanese architecture is the road approaching either a Shinto shrine or a Buddhist temple.[1]
Its point of origin is usually straddled in the first case by a Shinto torii, in the second by a Buddhist sanmon, gates which mark the beginning of the shrine's or temple territory. There can also be stone lanterns and other decorations at any point along its course.
A sandō can be called a front sandō (表参道 omote-sandō), if it is the main entrance, or a rear sandō (裏参道 ura-sandō) if it is a secondary point of entrance, especially to the rear; side sandō (脇参道 waki-sandō) are also sometimes found.
The famous Omotesandō district in Tokyo, for example, takes its name from the nearby main access path to Meiji Shrine.[2] An ura-sandō also used to exist.
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