Akiha Main Shrine

photo by Tomio344456 · CC BY-SA 4.0

Head shrine of the Akiha shrines since 1952: the walk up from the bottom takes an hour and a half to two hours.

The golden torii of the upper shrine, at the top of Mount Akiha, is the spot that almost every review photographs. From the lower shrine, down in the valley, you walk up in an hour and a half to two hours according to the Hamamatsu-Lake Hamana tourist office. From November to January, on selected days, a shuttle links Nishi-Kajima Station with the upper shrine. On the night of 16 December, at 22:00, the fire festival to ward off fires is held here.

The shrine changed its name several times over the centuries (from 岐陛保神ノ社 to 秋葉大権現, then 秋葉神社) until it became ‘秋葉山本宮秋葉神社’ in 1952, when it received the title of head shrine of all the Akiha shrines in Japan (the literal statement of the official page). According to the Japanese Wikipedia, it was founded in 709, and there are about 400 affiliated shrines. The complex comprises two sites: the upper shrine (上社), at 866 metres on Mount Akiha, and the lower shrine (下社), in the valley.

ℹ️ Free entry; the shrine does not publish opening hours. From the lower shrine to the upper one it is about 1 hr 30 min–2 hr on foot (public tourist source). From November to January, on selected days (mainly Sundays), a shuttle links Nishi-Kajima Station with the upper shrine: departure from Nishi-Kajima at 10:00, return from the upper shrine at 13:30, adults 1,000 yen each way, elementary school children 500 (details read on the official page, for the 2025–2026 season: the dates of the next season have not yet been published). By train and bus: from Hamamatsu on the Entetsu railway to the Nishi-Kajima terminus, then the Akiha line bus to the ‘Akiha-jinja’ bus stop. By car, about 30 minutes from the Shin-Tōmei interchange on National Routes 152/362. The night of 16 December and New Year are the busiest times.

Sources: akihasanhongu.jp · akihasanhongu.jp · akihasanhongu.jp · hamamatsu-daisuki.net · ja.wikipedia.org

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