Mar 2, 2014 - 1 min read

Kitano Tenman Shrine

Unusual Shinto shrine along Kitano's hiking trail

Community writer

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Kitano Tenman Shrine lies in a beautiful and peaceful neighborhood, with Mount Maya in the backdrop. The best time to visit this shrine is in spring, when the lush green of the surrounding hills is at its best.

The main shrine building during the sakura (cherry blossom) season.

This flight of stairs takes you to the Kitano Tenman Shrine. It is particularly beautiful during the cherry blossom season in April and a well-known place for weddings. You often can see wedding couples posing on the stairs for photographs.

At the entrance of the shrine you will find this lovely water fountain, a statue of a koi carp. In summer you can see people lining up here, after the Kitano hike, to splash some cool water on their faces to beat the heat.

View of the Kobe Kazamidori from Kitano Tenman Shrine

Unfortunately most visitors miss this view. Although the climb up to the shrine itself can be a bit tiring, please keep on going; on the backside of Kitano Tenman Shrine is an observation deck from where you can get this panoramic view of the city of Kobe. The shrine is in the bottom right corner of this picture.

In the Kitano area in Kobe streets are rarely flat, there is always some up and downhill walking, and so is the walk to the shrine. When you see this flight of stairs you have almost made it!

Kitano Tenman Shrine is one of Kobe’s major Shinto shrines, located in an unusual location of Kitano Ijinkan, the place associated with foreign residences from the late Meiji and early Taisho eras. The shrine has been constructed in the year 1180, while in the year 1724 a central hall was added. The shrine fortunately did not suffer any damage during the second world war or the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995. The shrine is at the end of a hiking trail, starting from Sannomiya Station and passing through the streets of Kitano. If you visit in summer, make sure you carry couple of water bottles to prevent dehydration.