Izumo Taisha Shrine

A shrine for those who think they're shrined-out

I feel like I've seen so many shrines in Japan that it is quite easy for them to lose their "wow" factor - which is kind of sad when you think about it. Izumo Taisha to me still has the wow factor in spades. Maybe because it's one of Japan's oldest and most sacred plays a part in that - but it truly is breathtaking. There are some lovely gardens on the walk up to the shrine buildings themselves which are worth a look. The shrine building itself is incredible, with the hanging woven straw ropes being enough to take your breath away. If you want to, they sell goshuin (the shrine stamp books) here for 1200 yen, and they'll also stamp it for you. I finally got one here after living in Japan for quite a while so I'm looking forward to filling it up. There are also ema available for purchase that you can write some prayers on and hang up. They range between 500 yen for the small size and 800 yen for the larger size. The shrine here is one that people pray for love at, so some prayers in that vein might be worthwhile!