Welcome to “Along the Road Roundup,” a casual corner where we introduce facilities along well-known roads in Nishinomiya City.
For our first installment, we’re rounding up shrines along the Old National Route. In November, a TV program called “news okaeri” introduced Nishinomiya Shrine as the final point of the Old National Route. So we wondered if there might be other shrines along the Old National Route too, and went to check it out.We went today, December 14. It was windy and cold.
The starting point is right at the city border on Mukogawa Bridge.
Here it is on the map↓
Counting Nishinomiya Shrine as the final point, how many shrines are there in total along the Old National Route?
- 1か所1.5%(1票)
- 2か所9%(6票)
- 3か所44.8%(30票)
- 4か所44.8%(30票)
This is just after crossing the bridge. If you go left, you’ll reach Hanshin Mukogawa Station; if you go right, you’ll pass Komatsu Elementary School and Kozone Park and head toward Route 2.
There’s a thickly wooded spot that makes you wonder, “Could that be a shrine?”We visited the yellow KaRion for a food article. Ishiyaki curry.
It looks extremely shrine-like. Endlessly shrine-like.
The first one along the Old National Route is “Okata Shrine.” It seems to be the oldest shrine in the Naruo area.Click here if you want to know more
Also, the guardian komainu are wild boars.We have an article about that too
We keep heading farther west. This street has a bit of a lively feel around here.
There are shops here and there all along the way. Actually, this area is called “Koshien Keyaki Sanpomichi,” and it feels a bit like a shopping street.
We previously posted a takeout article, and it includes a ton of shops. Use it as a reference!
We moved farther west. Don’t you see something suspicious?
This has to be it, right? Does anyone know this place?
It’s set pretty far back, but it’s fine to count it as being along the Old National Route, right?
The second shrine along the Old National Route is Ueno Shrine. It’s near Kusugawa Station.
It was a compact-feeling shrine! Apparently it’s dedicated to a guardian deity for safe childbirth.
This is the Meishin Expressway overpass. Huh? Is the Old National Route that road over there?
The road is getting narrow enough that calling it a national route feels a little tough.
It’s starting to feel like we’re getting close to Imazu.
Could this be it?!
Hmm?
It’s a temple. This is Joganji Temple.It’s not a shrine, so we won’t count it.
Or so I thought, but there was one right next door!!!
Whoa. It ended up all out of focus, like a “scene from a dream.”
The third shrine along the Old National Route is Sakura Okina Inari Daimyojin.
The Inari deity came into focus nicely! Amazingly, this shrine apparently appears in a story called “Sakura Daimyojin” from Manga Nihon Mukashi Banashi. It’s said to be a story about an old man, sake, and a fox.Source here
