Shinsen-en Garden

Connected to Towada Shrine by a steep stairway, the Shinsen Garden is a forested area containing several smaller shrines and the Uranai-ba divination spot. The Nansoden Shrine here honors Nansonobo, the figure from legend who first defeated the serpent spirit of Lake Towada. A second shrine, Towada-Seiryu-Gongensha, is dedicated to the blue dragon water deity said to protect the lake, and its most sacred point looks out over the water from a promontory above it. The garden is quieter and less visited than the main shrine precinct, and the climb through old-growth forest gives it a distinctly different atmosphere from the more formal grounds below.