Hakoshima Shrine

Overview

Hakoshima Shrine is a mystical shrine, truly deserving of the name 'Ryugu Palace on the Sea,' located on a small island extending into Kaburi Bay in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture. During the Edo period, literati and artists visited, composing poems about its scenic beauty. From the Taisho to early Showa periods, it flourished as an entertainment district with many traditional Japanese restaurants (ryotei), and even had historical visits from coal magnate Den'emon Ito and his wife Byakuren Yanagihara. Although there is no current shrine office, it is affectionately called 'Hakoshima-sama' by locals and is deeply revered as the god of love and the god of ears. Its most distinctive feature is that the approach path appears and disappears with the ebb and flow of the tide. Since it's impossible to cross to the island at high tide, it's recommended to check the Japan Meteorological Agency's tide data for low tide before visiting. At low tide, if you proceed along the rocky steps and unpaved path, you will find a small shrine (hokora) dedicated to Sae-masa-mitsubashira-no-okami, Nishinomiya Daimyojin, and Aizen Myoo. Aizen Myoo is believed to grant not only romantic success but also beauty, and there's a unique folklore that blowing into one's ears with a dedicated bamboo pipe cures ear ailments. Furthermore, this is a historically rich place, with the legend of 'Kamuri-ishi' (Crown Stone), where Kibi no Makibi, a great scholar of the Nara period, is said to have placed his crown. The topography surrounding the island creates a sensation of being enveloped by the sea, offering diverse spectacular views throughout the year, such as sunsets over the ocean and crepuscular rays (angel's ladder) in winter. In recent years, it has become a hot topic on social media for being 'like a Ghibli world,' and coupled with the colorful goshuin (shrine seals, available at Chinkaiseki Hachimangu Shrine), it attracts numerous tourists from both Japan and abroad. Although there was a time when it was forgotten, it now shines again as a popular tourist destination, riding the wave of a back-to-nature boom.