Guide · Akihabara

Part of: Things to Do in Akihabara: Local Guide's List

Kanda Myojin: The Shrine Seven Minutes from Akihabara, the Love Live! Steps, and the Charm That Protects Your Laptop

Kanda Myojin is a large Shinto shrine seven minutes' walk from Akihabara's Electric Town Exit, and Akihabara is one of the neighbourhoods it officially protects. Anime fans know it from Love Live!, where the long stone steps beside it, the Otokozaka, are the girls' training stairs. It sells an IT protection charm, keeps a sacred pony called Akari, and costs nothing to enter. I run private anime tours here most weeks, and it is the quiet half hour I recommend on any Akihabara day.

It also explains something about Akihabara that the shops do not: the electronics and anime district grew up on the doorstep of a shrine that has looked after this part of Tokyo since the Edo period.

What is Kanda Myojin, and why is it connected to Akihabara?

Its formal name is Kanda Jinja. The shrine's own history says it was founded in 730 and moved to its present site in 1616, and it is the guardian shrine of 108 neighbourhoods in central Tokyo, including Kanda, Nihonbashi, Ōtemachi and Akihabara. Many of the shops you walk past in Akihabara are, in that sense, its parishioners.

That is why I put it on the map for guests on my Akihabara anime tour who have an extra half hour. It is close enough to walk to between shops, and it looks nothing like Akihabara.

Is Kanda Myojin a Love Live! location?

Yes. In Love Live!, Nozomi Tōjō helps out at the shrine, and the members train by running up the long stone steps beside it, the Otokozaka. Fans visit both. The shrine has also run official collaborations with the series, such as items at its summer festival, but those are limited-time, so do not expect Love Live! goods on an ordinary day.

Two things worth knowing if this is why you are going:

• The steps are a public path. People use them to get to and from the shrine, so take your photo and keep moving rather than blocking them.
• Ema with drawings are a fan tradition. You will see plenty of wooden prayer plaques with anime characters drawn on them. Write yours with the same respect as any other prayer; it is still a prayer.

More pilgrimage spots across Japan are in anime pilgrimage in Japan.

What charms can you get at Kanda Myojin?

The shrine's oldest and best-known charm is the Katsu-mamori, a charm for victory, offered for ¥500. Visitors from the tech side of Akihabara go for the IT protection charm, ¥1,000, which the shrine lists in English as "Preventing information leakage." There is even a Rilakkuma charm for good health.

The shrine's FAQ explains why the victory charm comes first: Tokugawa Ieyasu prayed here before the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, won, and the shrine has been associated with winning ever since. The prices above are the shrine's own listed offerings (初穂料, hatsuho-ryō), checked on its online charm office.

Etiquette worth knowing, from the shrine's own FAQ: pray first, then receive a charm. And you do not have to tie your omikuji fortune to the rack; you can take it home, especially if it is a good one. The rest of shrine etiquette is in shrine and temple etiquette in Japan.

Who is Akari, the horse at Kanda Myojin?

Akari is the shrine's sacred horse, a shinme, meaning a horse for the gods to ride. The shrine's FAQ says she lives in a stable in the grounds and you can see her at any time, except while she is out on her two daily walks and during her summer break, roughly July to September.

The shrine describes her as gentle, and she is very popular with children. Do not feed her, do not tap the stable, and if she is out on a walk, that is just bad timing. If you are visiting with kids, she is the highlight; Akihabara with kids has the rest of a family day.

When is the best time to visit Kanda Myojin?

Any ordinary weekday afternoon is calm. Avoid the first working days of January, when Tokyo companies come to pray for the business year; the shrine's calendar lists these from 5 January. The big Kanda Matsuri festival is in May, but the shrine says 2026 was a quieter year without the main procession.

This is the honest section. Kanda Myojin is not a shrine you need to plan a day around; it is a shrine you add to a day in Akihabara. Thirty minutes is enough: walk through the gate, pray, see Akari, look at the ema, buy a charm if you want one, leave by the Otokozaka steps. For the arc of a full day, the Akihabara one-day itinerary has where it fits.

Can you get a formal prayer or a goshuin?

Yes. The shrine says individual prayer ceremonies need no reservation and are accepted on the day at the reception in the culture hall. Goshuin, the hand-written shrine stamps collected in a book, are also available. Ask at the counter; you do not need Japanese.

Formal prayers are a ceremony inside the hall, with a priest, for something specific: business, health, a new start. It is a real religious service, not a tour, so dress tidily and keep phones away. A goshuin is simpler: you hand over your stamp book and wait.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Kanda Myojin from Akihabara Station? Seven minutes' walk from the JR Electric Town Exit, according to the shrine. It is five minutes from Ochanomizu and from Suehirochō.

Is Kanda Myojin free to enter? Yes. Charms, prayers and goshuin have their own offerings.

What is the IT charm at Kanda Myojin? The IT protection charm (IT守護), offered for ¥1,000, prays for computers to work safely; the shrine describes it in English as "Preventing information leakage."

Is Kanda Myojin in Love Live!? Yes. In the series, Nozomi Tōjō helps at the shrine and the members run up the Otokozaka steps beside it.

Do I have to tie my omikuji at the shrine? No. The shrine's FAQ says you can take your fortune home, especially if it is a good one.

Thirty minutes of quiet, then back to the floors

Kanda Myojin is the pause in an Akihabara day. If you would like the rest of that day planned around the anime you watch, Adventure in Akihabara with Anime is my private half-day walk, three to four hours, never shared with other guests. The price is on the tour page.

About the author. I am Yuuki, a Japanese teacher and Akihabara anime tour guide based in Tokyo. I run private anime tours here most weeks, rated 4.96★ on Airbnb across 171 reviews. I have watched over 1,500 anime series, which is either a qualification or a warning depending on your point of view.

See the Akihabara anime tour →

Sources: Kanda Myojin, Access (2-16-2 Sotokanda; walking times from each station), About Kanda Myojin (formal name, 108 neighbourhoods including Akihabara, deities, founding in 730, move in 1616, 1934 concrete hall, wartime survival), Annual events (business-year prayers from 5 January), FAQ (Katsu-mamori history, omikuji, Akari the sacred horse, same-day prayer reception), Online charm office (Katsu-mamori ¥500, IT protection ¥1,000, Rilakkuma charm); Kanda Matsuri, official site (2026 is a kage-matsuri year without the main procession); Love Live! Series official staff account, Love Live! Summer Festival in Kanda Myojin Nōryō Matsuri announcement (an official collaboration at the summer festival); Hanako (Magazine House), Love Live! locations at Kanda Myojin (Nozomi at the shrine, the Otokozaka steps). All checked 4 October 2026.