Nishinomiya Jinja 西宮神社
At 6:00 sharp on 10 January the gate opens: 5,000 people run 230 metres.
Shinto shrine dedicated to Ebisu, god of fishing and commerce, and head shrine (総本社) of about 3,500 shrines of the same name across Japan. Its origins are uncertain; tradition links them to fishermen from Naruo who are said to have found the god's image in the sea. The entrance gate, in Momoyama style (late sixteenth century), was built between 1604 and 1609 and is now an Important Cultural Property. The main building (honden), once a National Treasure, was destroyed in the 1945 bombings and rebuilt in 1961.
Hyogo
Nishinomiya
