Ikuta Jinja, Kobe - the lonely-hearts shrine
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Ikuta shrine is geographically and figuratively the heart of Kobe: the city is thought to have grown up around this 1800-year-old Shinto love-and-marriage power spot. We've visited often, especially when there's a festival going on but also just when we happen to be in the area - the little foresty area at the back is a nice place to just chill for a while.
How to get to Ikuta Shrine?
Ikuta Shrine is in the Sannomiya area of Kobe, so it's really central and easy to get to. From Hankyu Kobe-Sannomiya Station, take the west exit and turn left. After about 40 metres, you'll come to Ikuta Road, which runs right up to the shrine - in fact you can see the shrine's torii from where you're standing. If you're arriving into Sannomiya on JR, exit to the north through the central ticket gates. Walk down the main street to the left (Ikuta Shinmichi) for about 200 metres and you'll come to Ikuta Road. Turn right into Ikuta Road and the shrine is about 3-mins' walk north.
What to see and do at Ikuta Shrine in Kobe
Ikuta Jinja is known as an enmusubi shrine: enmusubi is a Japanese concept entailing the binding together the fates of two people in general but of love, romance and matching-making in particular. So Ikuta Jinja is popular with couples or those looking for a romantic partner. The ema votives are pink and heart-shaped and you can buy some really cute omamori charms to bring you luck in love.
Also on the same theme, you might want to learn about your romantic future by means of Ikuta Shrine's unusual fortune-divining method. The omikuji paper fortune slips here are blank until you rinse them in the special rock pool at the back of the shrine. The water reveals your upcoming luck in love: if it's good, hold on to the omikuji. If it's not what you wanted to hear, tie the paper slip to the tree-shaped rack beside the pool and leave your bad luck behind.
The sacred pool is in the forested area behind the main shrine. This is a lovely shady spot to sit for a while on a hot day. The grove is extremely old and was the scene of a battle during the 12th century Genpei War, so is mentioned in ancient chronicles. There are several historical markers in the forest, the remains of an old stone torii gate that collapsed in an earthquake in 1854, and a little shrine for praying for safe childbirth.
To the west of the main shrine building is Ikuta Pond, which has also been a fixed feature of the shrine for many hundreds of years. It has koi in it and ducks on it, and has a little shrine of its own on a peninsula (Ichikishima Benzaiten shrine).
There is a fushimi shrine in the north-eastern corner of the shrine grounds, too, marked by stone foxes and - like a mini version of the famous Fushimi Inari shrine in Kyoto - a staircase of red torii gates. Unfortunately, there's a big ugly concrete wall on the eastern side of the torii tunnel so you won't get exactly the same vibe as in Kyoto, but it is a good photo op for a selfie without hundreds of other people in the background. When we were last there, there were several other tourists angling for a good Instagram shot, so the word is definitely out!
Since Ikuta Jinja is such an historic, culturally significant shrine - the main Shinto shrine in Kobe - it's very popular for Shinto weddings, coming-of-age ceremonies, the Shichi-go-san festival, New Year shrine visits, etc. and also hosts a lot of festivals throughout the year, including several historical reenactments. The local tourist office will be able to tell you if there is anything on while you're in Kobe.
Is Ikuta Shrine in Kobe worth visiting?
I can definitely recommend it. If you're in Kobe anyway, visiting the shrine is not going to take up much of your time, since it's very central. As the archetypal Shinto shrine, it's visually stunning in crimson and gold and with it's torii, gate tower and sweeping green rooves. And it's still not crowded at all. There are few shrines major shrines left in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka where you get to appreciate Japanese Shinto architecture and tradition like this without clamoring through hoards of other foreign tourists. But those foreign tourists are slowly getting wise to Kobe as a destination and day-away from Osaka or Kyoto so beat the crowds while you can!
In any case, I recommend going in the morning or late afternoon (gate closes at 5pm). The shrine is illuminated after dark and looks pretty spectacular, so even if you're too late to go in, it's worth a little detour if you happen to be in the Sannomiya area in the evening.
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