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Mie ⛩ Shrine 📷 6

Hananoiwaya Shrine

花窟神社

A Shinto shrine where you can watch everyday Japanese ritual up close.

See the photos How to get there Open in Maps
Best season Year-round; New Year and local festival days are liveliest
Time needed 40–90 minutes
Admission Free (special halls or treasure museums may charge)
Opening hours Grounds usually open dawn–dusk

Photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons — click any image for the photographer and licence.

What this place is

Hananoiwaya Shrine (Japanese: 花窟神社) is a Shinto shrine in the Arima neighborhood of the city of Kumano, Mie, Japan. It is a site of worship for the kami Izanami and Kagu-tsuchi. The shrine is the site of a cave, the Flower Cavern (花の窟), that is said to be the grave of Izanami. The cave is believed to mark the entrance to the underworld where Izanagi attempted to find Izanami after she died giving birth to Kagu-tsuchi. According to the Nihon Shoki, after Izanagi saw Izanami's rotting corpse, he sealed the entrance from the world of the living with a large boulder. In 2004, the shrine was registered as part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range by UNESCO.

Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)

Why it is worth the trip

  • Torii gates marking the boundary between the everyday world and the sacred grounds beyond.
  • A main hall in classic Shinto carpentry, often surrounded by centuries-old trees kept as sacred forest.
  • Seasonal rites, wedding processions and festival floats that make the place feel lived-in rather than museum-like.

What you can do here

  • Purify your hands and mouth at the temizuya, then offer a coin, bow twice, clap twice, bow once.
  • Draw an omikuji fortune slip and tie it on the rack if the prediction is unlucky.
  • Collect a goshuin — a hand-brushed seal and calligraphy — in a dedicated stamp book.
  • Buy an omamori charm chosen for travel safety, study, love or health.

Getting there

We do not have step-by-step transit directions for this spot yet. Open the location on Google Maps for routes from where you are staying.

Area: Mie

Route on Google Maps

Good to know before you go

  • Walk to the side of the central path; the middle is traditionally left for the deity.
  • Photography is usually fine outdoors but often prohibited inside the main hall.
  • Grounds are typically open from dawn to dusk even when the office closes at 16:30–17:00.

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