We visited this lovely Shrine as part of a walk around the outskirts of Yufuin but it is not very far from the main part of the town and an easy flat walk. When we arrived a local couple in traditional clothes were having their wedding photos taken and apart from them, we were the only people there. This shrine is small compared to others but the setting as well as the beauty of the building make it a very worthwhile place to visit. Completely different to the very touristy and kitschy Main Street leading up to the "lake" this quiet, authentic shrine was a highlight of our stay and remarkably its cost nothing to visit.

I went there on a tour. It is also called "Rokusho-miya" because it enshrines six gods including Kunitokotachi-no-Mikoto, and it is a shrine that has been loved by locals since ancient times. Yufuin is a swamp with ruins from the Yayoi period, and since ancient times, land reclamation has meant a constant battle with water, and people have been troubled by flood control. It is said that the shrine was named after "Unagihime," an animal called "eel," who was enshrined as the spirit of the marsh. Carp now swim in the pond. The shrine building is made of wood with a copper roof, and the pillars of the main hall are painted vermilion. The stump of a large cedar tree that fell in a typhoon in 1991 is placed in the precincts.