Aoshima Shrine, Shinto shrine on Aoshima island, Miyazaki, Japan

Aoshima Shrine is a Shinto shrine occupying the whole of Aoshima, a small island about 1.5 km around, in Miyazaki. Its grounds hold the main hall (nagare-zukuri style) and worship hall (kirizuma style), both copper-sheeted, reached by the Yayoi Bridge, first built in 1920 and replaced in 1951. The island is a national Special Natural Monument for its subtropical plants, including about 4,300 mature Chinese fan palms.

According to shrine tradition, Hikohohodemi no Mikoto landed on Aoshima on returning from the sea god's palace and founded a shrine there; the founding records were lost in the great earthquake of 1662. The island was closed to ordinary worshippers until 1737, when the priest Nagatomo Higo obtained permission for public visits. The shrine was revived by Ito Tadasuke in 1503 and rebuilt or repaired six times between 1523 and 1808 under the Obi domain.

The island is reached by the Yayoi Bridge, first built in 1920 for the crown prince's visit and rebuilt on 2 September 1951 after a 1940 typhoon destroyed it. The shrine stands in the island's centre, about ten minutes on foot from JR Aoshima Station on the Nichinan Line. The whole island is shrine grounds, so paths run through the palm grove to the main hall and the Motomiya site.

The shrine's grounds hold a toka-jo where visitors throw unglazed sake cups at a rock boundary: if the cup enters, the wish is granted; if it breaks, it brings luck and drives away misfortune. The island's about 4,300 mature palm trees, 80% of the grove, include one estimated at 300 years old.