Hayatani Jinja is a shrine in the hills of Hatsukaichi, a suburb of Hiroshima. I wasn’t able to find out much information about it in English (my Japanese reading skills suck), but I was able to determine that Hayatani Jinja is a shrine dedicated to the harvest. It is sponsored by the Imperial Family thanks to its association with other shrines in the area that receive Imperial patronage, and it does bare the golden chrysanthemum crest of the Imperial Family. Hayatani Jinja was originally built in the Heian period and was later renovated with Imperial funding in the 12th century.

For the casual: 8. For the educated: 5

I would say that the beauty of this shrine is the rural landscape that surrounds it. Hatsukaichi is largely a suburban landscape so long as you’re near the water, but as you move up the steady incline into the mountains, it suddenly becomes a farming community. The shrine itself is largely hidden from the main road but the front tori is fairly easy to find. I went there with my friends and we all noticed the same amazing thing about the shrine: even though it sits directly next to the road, you can barely hear the rumble of cars as they go by. Trees cover the main path up to the shrine itself, and the copper gold roofs reflect the iconic blue Hiroshima sky. I’d recommend this shrine for the atmosphere alone. It’s really an amazing place to just take a few minutes, look at the trees and the hills, and then turn around for a sprawling view of the bay.