Hotaka Jinja Shrine

Hotaka Jinja Shrine stands in a grove of towering cedar and pine not far from Hotaka Station, enshrining Wadatsumi no Mikoto, the nautical deity, and his son Hotakami no Mikoto, tutelary god of the Azumi clan. The Azumi were originally a seafaring people from Kyushu who migrated north and settled in the Azumino valley, building this shrine to honor the gods of their seafaring origins. The shrine was already well known across Japan by the tenth century. Once a year it hosts a lively festival celebrating those ancient roots. The forested grounds are peaceful any time of year and well worth a short stop.