Opening hours and admission for this place have not been checked yet, so none are shown. Check the official site
Our guide
Hananoiwaya Shrine, in the Arima area of the city of Kumano, Mie, worships the kami Izanami and Kagutsuchi. Its site is a cave, the Flower Cavern, said to be the grave of Izanami. It is believed to mark the entrance to the underworld, where Izanagi went in search of Izanami after she died giving birth to Kagutsuchi; according to the Nihon Shoki, after seeing her decaying body, Izanagi sealed the way from the world of the living with a great boulder. In 2004 the shrine was registered by UNESCO as part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.
Arii Station on the Kisei Main Line is about 800 m away in a straight line.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- Hananoiwaya Shrine03 — Tawashi2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Hananoiwaya Shrine01 — Tawashi2006 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Hananoiwaya Shrine - May 5, 2011 (2) — Yusuke Kawasaki · CC BY 2.0 · source · resized
- Hananoiwaya Izanami worship place — Hiyotchi · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source · resized
- Hananoiwaya Shrine - May 5, 2011 (1) — Yusuke Kawasaki · CC BY 2.0 · source · resized
What this place is
Hananoiwaya Shrine (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 adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Shrine
Nearby station
Nearby station: Arii (Kisei Main Line), about 800 m from the spot in a straight line.
Worked out on 2026-09-14 from this place’s map position, using HeartRails Express station data and station names from Wikidata. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route, and says nothing about buses, transfers or timetables — plan the trip on Google Maps.
Traveler reviews
No reviews yet — be the first to share how it went.