Kojima Shrine offshore from Iki Island in Nagasaki (photos courtesy Sora News). The causeway is covered over by the sea at high tide, so the shrine is only accessible at low tide.
Sora News by Casey Baseel May 31, 2017
The Shinto faith holds that there is divinity in nature. As such, many of the Shinto shrines that dot the Japanese countryside weren’t built to be easily accessed by visitors, but rather to be close to mountain peaks, dense forests, or coastal promontories.
A torii stands before the island grove
However, their out-of-the-way-locations enhance the mystical atmosphere of these shrines, and many have since been dubbed “power spots” by Japanese media and travel enthusiasts. One of the trickier power spots to get to is Kojima Shrine in Nagasaki Prefecture.
What makes it so difficult? The only way to approach the shrine is on foot, but the path leading to it gets swallowed up by the sea every day at high tide. When the waters recede, the path to the shrine’s island appears, like something out of a Final Fantasy or Legend of Zelda installment.
It’s said that those who offer a prayer at Kojima Shrine will be blessed with good fortune in their love life. Other benefits purported to be bestowed upon visitors are increased fertility and healthy childbirth, so it’s kind of a one-stop destination for those looking to find a serious romance and start a family one day.
Pathway to the island shrine
However, before you walk over to this island, you’ll have to take a boat to Ikinoshima, the larger island to which the shrine island is connected at low tide. From the port of Fukuoka City, the sea voyage takes about one hour.
Shrine information
Kojima Shrine / 小島神社
Address: Nagasaki-ken, Iki-shi, Ashibe-cho, Moroyoshi Futamatafure 1969
長崎県壱岐市芦辺町諸吉二亦触1969番地
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The Kojima Island Shrine, only accessible at low tide from Iki Island, one hour north of Fukuoka and Hakata Bay
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