This route is recommended for those visiting Yawata again.

Route for the Shrine Town and Sweets

START!

Keihan Railway Iwashimizu‐hachimangu Station

▼A short walk away

Yawata City Tourism Association

▼by rental bicycleAbout 3 min (about 350m)

9:00
1Hiko-jinja Shrine

This shrine was built by Ninomiya Chuhachi, the world’s first to establish the principle of aviation and called the “father of aviation in Japan.” This shrine is unique in that it was established to pray for the safety of aviation. Lovely good-luck charms available here are also popular. The shrine has many other must-see features, including a Zero Fighter engine and the Chuhachi Museum.

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Check the related story. 05 | Three Rivers

▼by rental bicycleAbout 5 min (about 500m)

10:00
2Tanden-an Temple (aka Rakugaki-dera)
Open Saturdays and Sundays only

The walls inside one temple building here are filled with graffiti (rakugaki) written by visitors with their prayers. The temple is therefore affectionately called “Rakugaki-dera” after this unique method of prayer. This playful prayer style was adopted by the chief priest about 60 years ago, who hoped that the deity Daikoku would clearly see the written prayers.

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▼by rental bicycleAbout 10 min (about 700m)

11:00
3Jibanso
Recommended by test visitors!

Jibanso is a long-established uiro (sweet rice jelly) shop dating back to the Edo period. This simple jelly is made only with rice flour and sugar. Fresh uiro made by skilled artisans fills the showcase every morning. Featuring a delicate flavor that everyone always finds appealing, this uiro has won many local fans.

▼Have lunch in the area.

▼by rental bicycleAbout 5 min (about 400m)

13:00
4Zenporitsu-ji Temple

This temple is related to the Zenpoji family, one of the families that produced the chief priests of Iwashimizu Hachimangu Shrine. The temple was once the family temple of Yoshiko, the mother of Muromachi shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu. It is commonly called “Momiji-dera” (Maple Temple) after the beautiful maple leaves in the precincts. The statue of Hachiman Daibosatsu as the temple’s main object of worship was relocated from Iwashimizu Hachimangu in the Meiji era.

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Check the related story. 02 | Shrine Town

▼by rental bicycleAbout 10 min (about 750m)

14:00
5Shobo-ji Temple
Open limited days only

This was once the family temple of Okame-no-kata, a concubine of Tokugawa Ieyasu. This temple is home to many cultural properties, including the Main Hall, Karamon gate, and Ohojo chamber, all designated as important cultural properties by the national government. The roughly 5-meter-tall seated statue of Amitabha, housed in the Hounden hall, was relocated from the Hakkaku-do Temple of Iwashimizu‐Hachimangu Shrine.

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Check the related story. 02 | Shrine Town

▼by rental bicycleAbout 10 min (about 850m)

14:30
6Hakkakudo Hall

After the Edict for Separation of Shinto and Buddhism was issued in the Meiji era, this hall was relocated from Iwashimizu‐Hachimangu Shrine to its current location. The wooden seated statue of Amitabha, which was formerly housed in this hall and is designated as an important cultural property by the national government, is currently housed in the Hounden hall of Shobo-ji Temple.

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Check the related story. 02 | Shrine Town

▼by rental bicycleAbout 5 min (about 450m)

[15:00]7Shokado Garden

Return your rental bicycle here.

▼by Keihan BusAbout 10 min (about 3.5km)

From Oshiba Shokado-mae Station to Iwashimizu-hachimangu Station

16:30
8Café Candle
Recommended by test visitors!

This café is located on Edison Street in front of Yawatashi Station. The café displays rare exhibits related to Thomas Alva Edison, which the previous café master collected. You can savor delicious sweets here made with specialty matcha.

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Check the related story. 02 | Shrine Town

▼A short walk away

GOAL!

Keihan Railway Iwashimizu‐hachimangu Station

* Test visitor project outsourced to Recruit Lifestyle Co., Ltd.

Other recommendations in the shrine town

Jinno-ji Temple and Sugiyamatani Fudoson
Open limited days only

Jinno-ji Temple houses a seated statue of the Buddhist priest Gyokyo, and Sugiyamatani Fudoson is the temple’s innermost sanctum. The area around Sugiyamatani Fudoson, a kind of “gorge in front of the station” due to its vicinity to the station, has many refreshing natural features, including breathtakingly beautiful autumn leaves.

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Check the related story. 02 | Shrine Town

Taisho-ji Temple
Open limited days only

This temple was once related to Shokado Shojo, a high priest of Iwashimizu Hachimangu. The precincts have the graves of priests of Takimoto-bo Temple, including Shojo, and Kan’unken, a reproduction of the tea hut built by Shojo. Every November, the temple holds a memorial ceremony dedicated to Shojo, where matcha and Shokado bento (boxed lunches) prepared by the chief priest are served to visitors with reservations.

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Check the related story. 04 | Shokado Bento