Oarai Isosake Shrine

#japantrip Have you been out to the Oarai Isosake Shrine? It's a beautiful shrine set up on a hillside overlooking the Pacific ocean, plus the dramatic Kamiiso-no-Torii gate standing alone on a rocky area at the edge of the sea. "This shrine was founded in 856 when two deities are said to have descended upon the coast of Oarai. The two enshrined at Oarai Isosaki Shrine are Daikoku-sama, the god of nation-building and national prosperity, and Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto, the god of medicine. Oarai Isosaki Shrine is associated with the nearby Kamiiso-no-Torii, a sacred gate where the gods are said to have descended earth. This shrine gate stands dramatically on rocks in the Pacific Ocean and attracts photographers worldwide. On New Year's Day, the sun rises directly between the pillars of the shrine gate." This spot also has a little sea museum and a big rocky beach to enjoy and build a rock tower (rock cairn). 📍 6890 Isohamacho, Oarai, Higashiibaraki District, Ibaraki 311-1301 🚗 Plenty of parking available at the shrine. It takes about 2 hours and 45 minutes to drive there from Yokosuka. It's north of Tokyo on the ocean.