Take a bus from Amanohashidate Station to Ichinomiya bus stop, which takes approximately 15 minutes. The shrine is then a 10-minute walk from the bus stop. The shrine is located 5 kilometers south of Amanohashidate. Parking is available for those traveling by car or taxi.
Admission is free. Voluntary offerings can be made at the offering box. The shrine sells omamori charms, ema plaques, and provides goshuin stamps for purchase.
The shrine is accessible year-round. Cherry blossoms appear in early to mid-April, and autumn foliage occurs from late October through November. The site is generally less crowded than major tourist destinations.
The Manai Spring is sacred water that flows naturally from the mountain at Motoise Kono Shrine. According to Shinto belief, this spring water possesses purifying properties and has been used in religious rituals for centuries. Visitors encounter the spring along the approach path to the main shrine buildings. Many pilgrims perform ritual purification by washing their hands and mouth with this water, following traditional Shinto customs. The spring represents the spiritual purity associated with this ancient sacred site.
Strange nighttime art exhibit at Japan's second most important shrine
You couldn't pick a better spot for a shrine. Motoise Kono shrine is located on the Kasamatsu side of the Amanohashidate land bridge (not the train station side). If you walk across the 3.6km land bridge you'll be right at it. The name "Moto Ise" means "former Ise." The most famous shrine in Japan is the Ise Jingu Grand Shrine in Mie. And this one came before it, hence the "moto." In fact this area has two "moto Ise" shrines because Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess in Shintoism) started out in Amanohashidate, and worked her way south through Kyoto prefecture before eventually settling in the warmer climate of Mie (or so the story goes).
This shrine is beautifully maintained and you can see the special 5-colors balls on the bannister around the shrine (distinct two only two shrines in Japan, this one and, yep you guessed it, Ise Jingu). While the shrine grounds aren't actually that big, it is in a convenient location and you can continue through to the quaint street behind it that leads to the cable car and chair lift for Kasamatsu Park. For people here without a car, all of this is really easily doable from Amanohashidate station. To get to Moto Ise Kono Shrine from Amanohashidate station you can walk the 50minutes across the land bridge, rent a bike (for only a few hundred yen) and get across quicker, or take a sightseeing boat (or 60-minute jet boat if you are in a hurry to get your shrine fix). The area is really fun. And if you plan on eating in the area, I highly recommend the restaurants on the Kasamatsu (Moto Ise Kono Shrine) side over the Amanohashidate Station side.
I went at night during a special event that ran through the fall, where sound and visual artists layered some beautiful visuals over the Shrine and grounds and played ambient sounds. It made the whole place feel like it was underwater. Really cool. They tend to have night exhibitions in the summer and fall. If you go during that time, check out to see what's going on at night.
The reason I gave this 4-stars instead of 5 is because, though the shrine is beautiful and the grounds are quite nice, it's not that expansive. I think if I was really into Shintoism, this would have been a deeper experience, but I still think it's worth 4-stars because there are lots of other things to do in the area as well, this is just one of the nice places to stop for a while.
