Need a little more love in your life? These five destinations across Japan have heart shapes incorporated into their designs, with both natural and manmade places on the list.
Heart-Shaped Rock, Kouri Island, Okinawa
Located just off Okinawa's Kouri Island, the Heart-Shaped Rock has become a popular photo spot with visitors to the area. The coral rock is shaped the way it is thanks to millions of years of erosion from sea water, which has naturally created what you see there today.
2 Kouri, Nakijin Village, Kunigami District, Okinawa, 905-0406
Shoju-in Temple, Kyoto
Called the "window of happiness," the heart-shaped window at Kyoto's Shoju-in Temple was designed to bring good fortune to visitors. It's not just the window here that's ultra-photogenic, though – be sure to take a look up at the ceiling if you visit, which is filled with around 160 paintings of different flowers.
149 Kawakami, Okuyamada, Ujitawara-cho, Tsuzuki District, Kyoto 610-0211
Koi-Yamagata Station, Tottori
Part of Tottori's Chizu Line, Koi-Yamagata Station is anything but boring. The station had a makeover in 2013 which involved the addition of heart motifs and the color pink used in abundance. There are heart shaped station name plates and boarding signs, and even a section where you can hang up heart shaped ema (plaques used to write down dreams or wishes).
Ochi, Chizu, Yazu District, Tottori 689-1421
Sanko Inari Shrine, Aichi
With a lineup of red torii arches similar to what you'd see at Kyoto's iconic Fushimi Inari, Sanko Inari Shrine is a popular spot for visitors to pray for relationship success and luck with matchmaking. There are pink, heart-shaped ema here that you can write your hopes for love and romance on, and there's also an area where you can wash your coins for some good fortune in the financial realm!
Kitakoken-41-1 Inuyama, Aichi 484-0081
Wilson's Stump, Kagoshima
Another natural entrant on the list, Wilson's Stump in Kagoshima was named after Ernest Henry Wilson (1876-1930), a British botanist who introduced a wide variety of Asian plant species to the West. The stump has an incredible circumference of approximately 32 meters, and from inside the stump looking up it seems to take on a heart shape.
Yakushima, Kumage District, Kagoshima 891-4205
