Overview
Minamoto no Yoritomo prayed here before beginning the campaign that founded the Kamakura shogunate, and warrior patronage kept the shrine wealthy for centuries. The main hall sits at the top of a long stone stair under cedars two and three hundred years old, and the atmosphere at the top is the reason to climb rather than take the road. The Torii of Peace, the gate in the lake, was built in 1952 to mark the peace treaty ending the occupation.
Highlights
The queue at the lake torii is for a photograph and can be forty minutes; the shrine itself, five minutes up the steps, is usually empty. Come in the early morning when mist sits on the lake and the cedars drip. The path from the shrine to Moto-Hakone follows the old Tokaido under an avenue of cedars planted in 1618.