TID Travel Journal "Three Historic Shrines in Kobe"   By TID, Summer 2004 update

Minatogawa shrine

This shrine is dedicated to Masashige Kusunoki, a well-known warrior who fell in the Battle of Minatogawa during the 14th century. You can find a tombstone of Masashige, on the right side just after entering the main gate. It was built by a feudal lord of Mito, Mitsukuni Tokugawa. He was deeply impressed by Masashige's loyalty to the Emperor and set up the tombstone.
On the right hand, there is a treasure house which has exhibits associated with him.
There is also a Inari shrine in the precinct. The brilliant red gates to the shrine will catch your attention. Inari shrine is very popular in Japan. The red gates and fox statues are special features of Inari shrines. In this religion, foxes are considered as servants of gods.

Access:	5 minutes walk from JR Kobe station or Kobe Kosoku line Kosoku Kobe station

**Other spots near in place

Metro Kobe

The entrance of Metro Kobe shopping center is just on the west side of the entrance. In the underground shopping street, there are a variety of shops such as restaurants, cosmetic shops, drug stores, bookstores and so on.
You can also find table tennis (ping-pong) courts and second-hand book stores in the west.

Kobe district court

An uniquely designed building can be seen from the east gate of the shrine.
The lower part of the building is a western-style, but the top is like a modern building.
The blue color on the top represents sky.

Harbor Land and Mosaic

A shopping and restaurant area with a seaside amusement park. A beautiful Ferris Wheel is the landmark.

Nagata shrine

Together with Ikuta and Minatogawa shrines, Nagata shrine is one of the most renowned shrines in Kobe. The main shrine is only shrine which could avoid war damages in Kobe.

Access:	7minutes walk fromKobe city Subway line Nagata station or Kobe Kosoku line Kosoku Nagata station.

**Other spots near in place

Markets in front of Nagata shrine

A Great red gate will catch your eyes when you reach the Nagata shopping streets.
You can enjoy the lively shopping streets while going up to the shrine.

Ikuta shrine

If you get tired of bustles of the city, why don't you go into Ikuta shrine? Surrounded by the abundant greenery of camphor trees, this tranquil and peaceful place makes it hard to believe that you are in the middle of downtown Kobe.
Here is a former site of a historic battle between the Minamoto and Taira clans in 12th century. Many archaeological sites related to the clans still remain in the precinct.
Do you believe a fortune slip? whether you believe it or not, picking a fortune slip is an exciting event. In Ikuta shrine, there is a vending machine of fortune slips so that you can get it handy. Some of the comments are written in English, too.

Access:	5minutes walk from Kobe City Subway line or JR Sannomiya station.