Koishidani Shrine is dedicated to Koishidanihime, who is said to have been a sobame (spouse who is not the primary wife) of Emperor Go-Daigo. The shrine is believed to have a power to grant wishes for love, childbirth, safe delivery, and so on. Some young women come from afar to pray at the shrine for a successful romantic relationship.
They say that if you walk across Koiji Bridge to the shrine, your wish is more likely to come true. After crossing the bridge over Kizu River and ascending a slope, you'll come across a torii (traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at a shrine). Pass through it and walk forward, and you'll find stone stairs. When you reach the top of the stairs, you’ll see Tenmangu Shrine on the right, and Koishidani Shrine on the left.
In front of the main sanctuary of Koishidani Shrine, you can find heart-shaped stones. In the old days, people would go to the river, pick up flat stones, wash them, and offer them to the deity of the shrine. Some of the stones are naturally heart-shaped. (Do not bring them home.) There is also a large heart-shaped stone buried in the shrine. If you visit, be sure to look for it.
And what is interesting is that you can get this shrine's amulets only on 3 days of the year: April 2nd and September 2nd (annual festival days), and October 21st (the annual festival day of Tenmangu Shrine). (Perhaps, you might get them on other days as well, if you are lucky enough to find someone at the shrine office.)
- Tel
- 0743-93-0105
(Industry and Tourism Division, Minamiyamashiro Village Office)
- Address
- 92 Minamiokawara Yuyanawate, Minamiyamashiro Village, Soraku-gun, Kyoto
- Access
- 10 min. on foot from Okawara Station (JR Kansai Line)
- Business Hours
- Free entry
