Kumano Kotai Shrine (Pop-up Yatagarasu Goshuin) (Nagano Side)

– Kumano Kotai Shrine – 熊野皇大神社- Karuizawa (軽井沢) – July 22, 2022 Kumano Kotai Shrine is one of the many shrines located along the Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto and Tokyo. Built right on the border between modern day Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, you can straddle the border and literally be in both prefectures at once. There’s even a plate set into the ground marking the line. We had a good time hopping back and forth across the line. This is by far the coolest goshuin that I own. It’s a pop-up goshuin! How nifty is that? You can find…

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Kumano Kotai Shrine (Nagano Side)

– Kumano Kotai Shrine – 熊野皇大神社- Karuizawa (軽井沢) – July 22, 2022 Kumano Kotai Shrine is one of the many shrines located along the Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto and Tokyo. Built right on the border between modern day Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, you can straddle the border and literally be in both prefectures at once. There’s even a plate set into the ground marking the line. We had a good time hopping back and forth across the line. There are several goshuin available at this shrine. This is the normal goshuin available on the Nagano Prefecture side of the…

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Kumano Kotai Shrine (Famous Regional Features) (Nagano Side)

– Kumano Kotai Shrine – 熊野皇大神社- Karuizawa (軽井沢) – July 22, 2022 Kumano Kotai Shrine is one of the many shrines located along the Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto and Tokyo. Built right on the border between modern day Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, you can straddle the border and literally be in both prefectures at once. There’s even a plate set into the ground marking the line. We had a good time hopping back and forth across the line. There are several goshuin available at this shrine. This is one of the special ones available on the Nagano Prefecture side…

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Nihon San Dai Kumano (Kumano Kotai Shrine) (Gunma Side)

Kumano Kotai Jinja

– Kumano Kotai Shrine – 熊野皇大神社- Karuizawa (軽井沢) – July 22, 2022 Kumano Kotai Shrine is one of the many shrines located along the Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto and Tokyo. Built right on the border between modern day Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, you can straddle the border and literally be in both prefectures at once. There’s even a plate set into the ground marking the line. We had a good time hopping back and forth across the line. There are several goshuin available at this shrine. This is one of the special ones available on the Gunma Prefecture side…

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Kumano Shrine (Kumano Kotai Shrine) (Gunma Side)

  – Kumano Shrine – 熊野神社- Karuizawa (軽井沢) – July 22, 2022 Kumano Kotai Shrine is one of the many shrines located along the Nakasendo Highway connecting Kyoto and Tokyo. Built right on the border between modern day Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture, you can straddle the border and literally be in both prefectures at once. There’s even a plate set into the ground marking the line. There are several goshuin available at this shrine. This is the basic goshuin for the Gunma Prefecture side of the shrine located near the entrance. The center part in black says “Kumano Shrine”…

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Hokoku Shrine (Osaka)

– Hokoku Shrine – 豊國神社- Osaka(大阪市) – December 30, 2019 The instant you get out of the station, you can spot Osaka Castle. It’s raised up high above the mote and stands several stories high. You can’t help but stare at it as you stroll through the park towards it. But as you wander around the corner, your eye gets taken by a large torii gate. This is the gate to Hokoku Shrine. Just through the torii you can see a large statue of the man the shrine’s dedicated to: Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the second great unifier of Japan and the…

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Kasuga Shrine (Nara)

– Kasuga Taisha – 春日大社 – Nara(奈良) – August 9, 2018 I think many people come to Nara for Todai-ji and stay for the deer. Because of this, the deer are often associated with the famous temple, but the actual reason they’re considered sacred is because the deer are believed to be the messengers of the gods enshrined at Kasuga Shrine and that inhabit the area. The shrine is on the east side of the park. A long, upward sloping path leads up to the shrine from the park. Once there, you can enjoy the striking, red architecture and the…

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