Miyajidake Shrine, Shinto shrine in Fukutsu, Japan

Miyajidake Shrine rises at the top of a stone stairway, with a long approach road that extends straight toward the Genkai Sea. The main hall stands on a raised platform and is surrounded by smaller auxiliary buildings, while the grounds also include a large ancient megalithic tomb from the Kofun period.

According to shrine tradition, the shrine was founded about 1,700 years ago, when Empress Jingū set up an altar on the summit of Mount Miyajidake and prayed before sailing to Korea. The present grounds lie on the mountainside below that summit. The megalithic tomb behind the main hall was built between the late 6th and early 7th century.

The shrine's name comes from Mount Miyajidake, on whose slope the grounds sit; its summit holds the old shrine site and a sunrise worship spot. The great shimenawa rope is twisted each year from rice grown in about two tan of shrine paddy, with some 1,500 people taking part. The approach road is lined with shops selling maneki-neko and daruma, and Matsugae-mochi rice cakes stamped with the shrine's three-tiered pine crest.

Visitors reach the shrine by taking the JR Kagoshima line to Fukuma Station, followed by a short bus ride to the Miyajidake-jinja-mae stop. The climb up the stone stairway leads to the main area, while the grounds are expansive and comfortable shoes are recommended for exploring the different sections including the tomb site.

The great shimenawa over the worship hall measures 2.5 m in diameter, 13.5 m long and 5 tonnes, and is woven from rice grown in about two tan of shrine paddy; roughly 1,500 people take part in making it. It was once replaced every three years, but is now renewed annually. The 450 kg copper bell hung beside it in the worship hall until 1960.