Selected by Iwaki City as a Natural Monument, the great weeping cherry tree is over 500 years old. The flowers bloom slightly earlier than those of Yoshino cherry trees, and are lit up by traditional Japanese lanterns in the evenings of cherry blossom season. Stretching even further down than the roots, the weeping branches of the tree give it an extremely beautiful appearance.
Illuminations run throughout cherry blossom season; please be aware the shrine can get crowded in the evenings.
| Website | https://kankou--iwaki-or-jp.translate.goog/spot/10071?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ja |
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| Contact | Iwaki Tourism and City Planning Bureau (+81) 246-44-6545 |
| Best Season |
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| Parking | Available (Space for 30 vehicles available) |
| Entrance Fee | Free |
| Related info | Best time for seeing cherry blossoms: Early April |
| Access | Takahagi Ienomae 140-1, Ogawa-machi, Iwaki City, Fukushima Pref. 979-3122 View directions |
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| Getting there | By Car: 15 min from the Iwaki Chuo I.C. exit off the Joban Expressway By Train: 15 min by taxi from Iwaki Station (JR Joban Line). Alternatively, take the Joban Line to Ogawago Station (JR Ban-etsu East Line), from where the shrine is just a 15 min walk away. |
The Minamisoma City Museum is located on the eastern side of the Soma Nomaoi festival grounds within the spacious Higashigaoka Park.Its exhibitions center around the Soma Nomaoi festival, a traditional festival of the Soma region that is a nationally-designated important intangible cultural property, and the nature, history, and culture of the local region.
This well-known hot spring is thought to be one of the oldest hot springs in Japan. The list of most ancient springs also includes Dogo Onsen (Ehime Prefecture) and Arima Onsen (Hyogo Prefecture). It is said that Iwaki Yumoto Onsen as first used for its hot spring water around one thousand years ago. Water is pumped into the numerous hotels and ryokan in the town at a rate of five tons per minute. The springs have various benefits such as having skin-beautifying properties.
Kairyu no Sato Center Theme Park is a dinosaur themed theme park in Iwaki city. Here there are three rides as well as some unique dinosaur statues including a huge long-necked dinosaur. Around late March to early April is the best time to visit if you want to see the unique sight of dinosaurs surrounded by cherry blossoms. Iwaki is well known for its excavation of fossils and most notably the discovery of the Futabasaurus dinosaur. You can learn more about the mining history of Iwaki at the Horuru: Iwaki Coal and Fossil Museum.
This is the shrine of the guardian deity of the Soma Domain, and a ceremony site of the Nomakake ritual which takes place during the exhilarating Soma Nomaoi Festival. Somei Yoshino cherry blossom and weeping cherry trees light up the shrine grounds in spring, making Soma Odaka Shrine a popular cherry blossom viewing spot.
Kunitama Shrine (國魂神社) is located in Iwaki City, in the coastal area of Fukushima. Three deities are enshrined at Kunitama Shrine: Okuninushi (the god of nation-building, said to be the founder of Japan); Suserihime-no-Mikoto (the wife of Okuninushi) and Shohikono. The shrine is said to have been built in the year 806, and was renovated in 1942. The temple bell was designated as a tangible cultural property of the city of Iwaki in 1982. There is also a preserved cedar tree.Several events are celebrated in the shrine, such as a New Year’s Day Festival, a Rice Planting Festival, and other prayer festivals. During the summer, the shrine is beautifully decorated with colorful wind chimes.
The Shinto gods of hot spring water and medicine are the enshrined deities of this shrine. This Onsen Shrine is widely thought of as being Iwaki Yumoto Onsen town’s own local Shinto deity.
This is the shrine of the guardian deity of the Soma Domain, and a ceremony site of the Nomakake ritual which takes place during the exhilarating Soma Nomaoi Festival. Somei Yoshino cherry blossom and weeping cherry trees light up the shrine grounds in spring, making Soma Odaka Shrine a popular cherry blossom viewing spot.
In the year 806, the holy priest Tokuichi constructed Hattachi-Yakushi Temple as a place of worship for the Buddhist deity who has the ability to ensure the safe voyage of seafarers. The temple grounds are extremely beautiful in spring when the hydrangeas bloom, earning the temple the local nickname ‘Hydrangea Temple’. In front of Hattachi-Yakushi Temple is Bentenjima Island and Shrine, and the Hattachi Coastline, which connects the mainland with the island. The Hattachi Coast is covered in unique gravel, which has traditionally been thought to have healing properties. However, removing a stone and bringing it home can have the opposite effect.