Iwasaku Jinja Shrine, Nikko

Beautiful little shrine in the middle of a neighborhood

Larry Knipfing Apr 07, 2013 - 1 min read

The shrine itself is simple - a nice match for the beauty of the grounds

Looking back and down towards the street

That's a neighborhood house right behind the dragon

Statue, tree, house - this shrine is tucked in amongst a lot of houses

Gorgeous green moss everywhere - this was at 7AM and all was fresh and beautiful

The moss was flat and smooth, like a billiard table

You can see a cemetary behind the houses and cars

I wasn't searching for this shrine, and in fact almost walked right by it on my way to see the famous Narabi Jizo statues. But something caught my eye - perhaps the gorgeous green moss covering almost the entire grounds. It's quite small, and is tucked in among a few houses. The shrine building itself is small and not outstandingly beautiful, but the combination of old statues, and lovely colors made me very happy that I stopped and saw it. Keep your eyes open in Nikko - there's a lot to see that is not at all famous!

Larry Knipfing @larry.knipfing

Born on Long Island, New York in 1958, I have spent the last 30 years of my life living in Japan, and enjoying every minute of it! I especially love photography, and Japan is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world to photograph! My other love is fiction writing and I have pub...