In the recent Niigata Repo, there was an article about a New Year's visit to Yahiko Shrine. Many of you may have visited Yahiko Shrine, one of the most popular shrines in the prefecture, for Hatsumode.

In fact, I heard about Yahiko Shrine from a friend and was curious about the place.

'There's a secret place near Yahiko Shrine where we should pay our respects, let's go there sometime.'

Apparently, in addition to the main shrine, there are three other important sacred shrines (end shrines) that should be visited.

• They say there's a shrine called 'Bou Shrine'.
• It is said to be quietly located near the car wash.

I went out to the Yahiko Shrine with the vague information that the shrine is a "good place to visit".

My friend who told me about this story and my schedule didn't work out, so we started a shrine watch, not the trendy yokai watch, and I started walking aimlessly, hoping to find one of the three, but miraculously I found three and experienced their yabai.

The first YABAI is here.

'Aurido Shrine'.

The image of Oyahiko-sama is of a large, magnificent red torii gate, but this one is quite plain. The wooden torii gate caught my eye. Compared to the large and splendid main shrine, this old wooden torii gate still remains carefully and quietly, which smells like yabai.

After passing through a dark torii gate, proceed inside and you will see a large, eye-catching tree.

It is a pity that the photos do not convey the size and grandeur of the tree, but it was a large tree that gave the impression of being several hundred years old, so large that three adults could enclose it hand in hand. Mmmm yabai!!!

At the back is a small hut? s company is located at the back of the building.

According to a friend, it is better to visit this place first, as it has the power to purify you. ......

Next, visit the main shrine. The overwhelming scale of Oyahiko-sama is unmatched by the simple shrine mentioned earlier.

Visit the main shrine and the yabai shrine watch continues: ......

Following a path by the car's ohaiba, the next yabai shrine was found.

It is also known as ......

"A Shrine"

It is, after all, a wooden torii.

The atmosphere was so yaba that I couldn't take any photos. ......

It is said to have originally been the god of the land or a place where a raging god was trapped. It is better to visit from a distance and not enter the piles of stones.

Again, here is a third yabai that I happened to find.

'Shimosuwa Shrine'.

It was a red torii gate, but it was simple and old and historical.

The area where Shimosuwa Shrine is located used to be a swamp, and it seems to have been worshipped as a guardian deity of the area and a god to prevent disasters. There is also a Kami-Suwa Shrine with a 300-year-old zelkova tree, which we could not find this time.

Due to my poor sense of direction, I cannot give you information about this area of Yahiko Shrine, but you may want to look for it, as I was able to get there with the little information I had.

By the way, I heard that this year marks the 100th anniversary of the reconstruction of the main shrine, which is large in scale. There was a big sign that said '100 years since the relocation', but I didn't know what it meant... I looked it up when I got home.

From Yahiko Shrine website: http://www.oyahikosama100nen.com/index.html

The shrine buildings of this shrine have been built and repaired frequently since ancient times by the Imperial Court, shoguns and warlords, and are said to have been of the utmost beauty. However, in 1912 (Meiji 45), a large fire broke out in front of the shrine and almost all the buildings, including the main shrine building, were destroyed by fire. The loss of the Echigo Ichigu shrine was a great shock to the people of Niigata Prefecture at the time, and their enthusiasm for the rebuilding of the shrine was remarkable, and in 1916 (Taisho 5) the present majestic and magnificent shrine was rebuilt with funds and labor that exceeded the target. More than one million people pray devoutly at the shrine, which is set in a sacred forest with Mount Yahiko in the background. The coming year 2015 (Heisei 27) will mark the 100th anniversary of the Taisho reconstruction and relocation of the shrine.

Various commemorative events will also take place in 2015.

The yabai shrine and the magnificent Yahiko shrine are places I would like to visit again at leisure.

The contrast between the old appearance and the opulence of the building is so striking that you can't help but feel something secretive about it.

Yahiko Shrine: 2887-2, Yahiko, Yahiko-mura, Nishikanbara-gun, Niigata 959-0323, Japan.