Washinomiya Shrine — Attraction in Kuki

Come for the anime, stay for the scenery. This is a sacred pilgrimage location for Lucky Star, and is canonically the shrine at which Kagami Hiiragi is a shrine maiden. On the street leading to the main entrance, there is Lucky Star signage on the lampposts, and there are many anime-themed ema in the shrine grounds. In addition to the elements of anime motif, the shrine itself is a beautiful location, in both appearance and feeling. The main building is in the open, but there are also smaller buildings in the surrounding forest; the forest has several walking trails. On some visits, it may be possible to hear traditional instruments being played from inside the main building. It may be a tad remote for some travelers, but this location is undoubtedly worth the visit- irreverent of watching Lucky...

The Washinomiya shrine is the oldest shrine in the Kanto region of Japan. It's a good sized shrine with a nice wooded area to explore to the rear of the complex. I've visited twice and liked it both times. As is usual at most shrines and temples, you can pay a modest fee to have a goshuin added to your goshuin book.

If you're a fan of Lucky Star, the anime, then this is the shrine that influenced the one in the show. At the time of writing, the iconic Torii gate had collapsed before I came here. Luckily, I had seen it on a previous visit. I hope that it is repaired or replaced but that didn't put me off coming back this year and I'd be happy to come back again in future. There are lots of anime related Emas to be seen so this is obviously a...

from wikipedia

The oldest record of the shrine was found in the Azuma Kagami, the official historical record for the Kamakura Shogunate. It had the patronage of the Imperial family, and even Shōgun Tokugawa Ieyasu. Various folk-culture and performing art events, including the Saibara-Kagura Festival are held here. Its traditional dance handed down through generations has been designated as a national intangible folk-culture asset. The shrine also houses several ancient relics.

During the New Year season, the shrine receives no fewer than 100,000 visitors. The torii gate of the shrine...