Kushida Shrine
櫛田神社
The guardian shrine of Hakata and the starting point of the Gion Yamakasa festival. Decorated floats more than 10 metres tall are displayed year-round on its grounds.
Kushida Shrine is in Kawabata-machi, Hakata Ward, right next to the Kawabata shopping arcade and Canal City. Founded in 757, it enshrines Ōhata-nushi, Amaterasu Ōmikami and Susanoo. Hakata people affectionately call it 'O-Kushida-san'. It is the guardian shrine of Hakata and the spiritual center of the city's residents. Its most famous role is as the stage for the Hakata Gion Yamakasa festival, held from July 1 to 15. This festival, more than 770 years old, is one of the UNESCO-listed 'Yama, Hoko and Yatai Festivals'. At 4:59 am on July 15, men from each neighborhood association, or 'ryū', carry 'yakiyama' floats weighing about one tonne out of Kushida Shrine and race along a route of about 5 km. This is called the 'Oi-yamakasa' (chasing the floats), and spectators splash water along the way to cheer them on. It is the most fervent spectacle of Kyushu's summer. From July 1, decorated 'kazariyama' floats 10 to 15 metres tall, adorned with warriors and dolls, are displayed around the city. One of them is displayed year-round on the grounds of Kushida Shrine and can be viewed at any time. The grounds also feature a thousand-year-old ginkgo tree, Hakata's city tree, a sumo wrestler's votive stone called a 'chikara-ishi', and a yamakasa model that visitors can try to lift. The Hakata Historical Museum displays festival artifacts for 300 yen. Worship is free. Getting there: about 5 minutes' walk from Gion Station on the subway, 7 minutes' walk from Nakasu-Kawabata Station, and 3 minutes' walk from Canal City. A visit takes about 30 minutes. Combine it with the Kawabata shopping street, which has Hakata hariko and yamakasa souvenir shops and often displays decorated floats in its arcade, and with Jōten-ji, the birthplace of udon, soba and manjū, for a half-day stroll through old Hakata. Notes: for the dawn viewing during the yamakasa festival, arrive early to secure a spot, as hotels fill up fast. Inside the shrine, do not aim flash at the priests when taking photos.
Opening hours
04:00–22:00 (shrine office 09:00–17:00)
Nearby sights
- Hakata Machiya Folk Museum
- Canal City Hakata
- Kawabata Shopping Arcade
- Tōchō-ji
- Nakasu Yatai Stalls
- Shōfuku-ji
- Sumiyoshi Shrine (Fukuoka)
- Yanagibashi Rengo Market