Wakamatsu Ebisu-jinja, Shinto shrine in Wakamatsu-ku, Kitakyushu, Japan

Wakamatsu Ebisu-jinja is a small Shinto shrine located in Wakamatsu-ku district in the city of Kitakyushu. The simple wooden structure with tiled roof houses a sacred shining stone and is framed by an old pine tree that marks the grounds.

The shrine was founded approximately 1,800 years ago when Emperor Chūai and Empress Jingū traveled through the region and a shining stone was found from the sea floor. This sacred stone remains preserved at the shrine today and symbolizes the protection of the sea gods.

Wakamatsu Ebisu-jinja is dedicated to Ebisu, the god of good fortune and prosperity in Japanese tradition. Visitors come to pray for business success or to give thanks, offering coins and bowing quietly before the main hall as they make their wishes.

The shrine sits directly beneath the elevated approach of the Wakato Bridge, so it is easy to miss from the street. Access: about 15 minutes on foot from JR Wakamatsu Station on the Chikuho Main Line, 5 minutes from the Wakamatsu ferry landing, or by Kitakyushu city bus alighting at Wakamatsu Ward Office. The grounds are close to the central shopping streets.

The name Wakamatsu comes from Takeuchi no Sukune, who revisited the shrine, planted a small pine beside the sacred stone, and composed a poem: "Like the blue sea's vast expanse, the pine stays ever green—my heart too is young." The shrine's own tradition, the Ebisu Jinja Engi, records this as the origin of the place name.