Western Japan temples and shrines: Itsukushima, Izumo, Kotohira and Dazaifu

Pick by what you want to see, then check the closing time.

• Floating torii: Itsukushima, on Miyajima.
• Bonds between people: Izumo Taisha, the shrine of en-musubi.
• A long climb: Kotohira-gu, with 785 steps to the main sanctuary.
• Learning and exams: Dazaifu Tenmangu, the shrine of the deity of learning.
• Latest winter closing: Dazaifu Tenmangu, at 18:30 from December to March.

Itsukushima Shrine is the floating shrine and O-torii on Miyajima, in Hiroshima Prefecture. Admission is $2 (¥300), or $3 (¥500) with the Treasure Hall. The shrine is open year-round, and its closing time shortens through autumn and winter:

• 1 March to 14 October: 06:30 to 18:00, per regional notes.
• From 15 October: 06:30 to 17:30.
• December: 06:30 to 17:00.
• 4 January to February: 17:30 again, per regional notes.

The O-torii is lit after dark until 23:00, but the shrine cannot be entered after dark. The shrine’s corridor floor has gaps that ease buoyancy at high tide, per the Miyajima tourism page. One secondary guide says to walk to the O-torii at low tide and that it looks afloat when the tide is above about 250 cm. Tide and torii-walking rules and photo rules are not found.

No booking is needed. The shrine holds Tokasai on 16 to 18 April each year.

Izumo Taisha, officially Izumo Oyashiro, is the shrine of Okuninushi no Kami and of en-musubi, bonds between people. It appears in records from the 8th century, and its Honden, the main sanctuary, was rebuilt in 1744. It stands in Izumo, Shimane.

The shrine’s English page gives no fees, so these come from regional notes: the grounds are free, and the Treasure Hall costs $2 (¥300). The Treasure Hall is open 08:30 to 16:30 with last entry at 16:00. The shrine states no grounds hours. No regular closed days are listed, though the Treasure Hall was closed on 22 December 2025 and the notice gives no reason. Booking is not found.

On 17 April 2026 a national-treasure cosmetic box went on special display. November is the month Izumo’s gods are said to gather; the shrine’s Kamiarisai dates for 2026 are not found.

Kotohira-gu, known as Konpira-san, is the shrine of seafarers in Kotohira, Kagawa. It is a climb: 785 steps to Gohonmiya, the main sanctuary, and 1,368 to Okusha. A secondary guide puts the walk to Gohonmiya at 40 to 60 minutes, about 2 hours round trip, and 2.5 to 3 hours with Okusha. The shrine gives no timing.

The hours:

• Main gate: 06:00 to 18:00.
• Gohonmiya: 07:00 to 17:00.
• Charm office: 08:30 to 17:00.
• Okusha: doors 09:00 to 16:30. The path opens at 09:00, or at 07:00 from 12 July to 30 September, and may close in storms.

The official pages list no fee for the grounds and steps, and a prayer costs $32 (¥5,000). Fees for the Omote Shoin, with its Maruyama Okyo paintings, and for the Treasure House are not found.

Some buildings keep set days:

• Omote Shoin: closed on Tuesdays, or the next weekday if Tuesday is a holiday.
• Treasure House: weekends and holidays only, 29 April to 6 May, 1 October to 30 November (closed Tuesdays) and 30 December to 3 January.
• Takahashi Yuichi Museum: weekends and holidays, 29 April to 6 May, 16 June to 30 September and 30 December to 3 January.

Prayer services can be booked online, and Okusha prayer is by reservation only through an inquiry form. There is no walk-in parking, and car visits are reserved online.

The museum opening days changed on 1 April 2026. Kemari demonstrations, a traditional ball game, are suspended in May and July, and the procession to Gohonmiya at the cherry and autumn festivals has been discontinued. New talismans went on offer on 25 April 2026. Photography in the exhibition rooms is still allowed.

Dazaifu Tenmangu, in Dazaifu, Fukuoka, enshrines Sugawara Michizane, known as Tenjin, the deity of learning. It heads about 12,000 Tenjin shrines and draws more than 10 million visitors a year.

It opens at 06:00 from the spring equinox and at 06:30 from the autumn equinox. Closing time depends on the month:

• April, May and September to November: 19:00.
• June to August: 19:30.
• December to March: 18:30.

No temporary hours are announced. The grounds fee, the museum fees and closed days are not found. Prayer rules changed on 17 May 2026, and a notice on worship in front of the main hall is posted; the page shows no details of either.

The exam-prayer festival runs 1 to 31 October, with the main day on 18 October. The official page has a “Tenjin and plum” section whose dates are not found. Plum season was last known as late February to late March, from regional notes that credit the shrine; other guides give mid-February to mid-March. The 2027 window is unclear right now.

The four sites cannot share a day, so pair each with its region trip.

• Itsukushima with Hiroshima: Tram route 2 reaches Miyajimaguchi in about 35 minutes, and the JR Sanyo line takes about 28 minutes for roughly $3 (¥420). The ferry takes about 10 minutes. A Matsudai ferry round trip is $3 (¥500) including a $1 (¥100) visitor tax. In December, be on the island by mid-afternoon: the shrine closes at 17:00.
• Izumo Taisha with Matsue: The Ichibata train takes about 1 hour from Matsue, and the Izumoshi bus about 30 minutes for $3 (¥470 to ¥530). From Okayama, the Yakumo to Izumoshi takes 2 hours 40 minutes to 3 hours and costs about $45 (¥7,000). Reach the Treasure Hall before 16:00.
• One pass for both: The Sanyo-San’in Area Pass costs $150 (¥23,000) for 7 days and is for foreign passports with temporary visitor status. It covers JR lines in Hiroshima and Shimane and the JR ferry, but not the Miyajima visitor tax. Its page does not say whether the Yakumo limited express counts.
• Kotohira-gu with Takamatsu: The JR limited express takes about 50 minutes, and the cheaper Kotoden about 1 hour. Fares are not found. Allow about 2 hours for the climb to Gohonmiya and back, and reach Okusha before 16:30.
• Dazaifu with Fukuoka: The Fukuoka Tourist City Pass costs $16 (¥2,500) a day, or $18 (¥2,800) with Dazaifu, for overseas visitors with a passport. It is not valid on the Dazaifu Liner Bus “Tabito”. The time and fare from Hakata to Dazaifu are not found.

Before you go Climb Kotohira-gu in the morning. Okusha closes at 16:30, half an hour before Gohonmiya’s doors close at 17:00, and the path can close in storms.

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