Koura Taisha Shrine — Attraction in Kurume

Posting my experience so you can learn from my mistakes lol my friend and I visited this shrine around 4pm, it took us an hour to get to the top. You go through some streets in a small college town (lots of students) then pretty much it’s residential and super quiet. Google Maps will have you go through the forest with lots of rock steps and it’s shady. Kinda scary if you’re just alone lol. This path will take you straight to the shrine but if you take the road way instead on the left, it’ll take you to the bottom of the stairs of the shrine instead. It’s a bit longer but easier. There are no lights until August! And no taxis but there was a taxi driver waiting for a passenger because they called ahead. I recommend doing that. Overall the shrine is beautiful and the views is amazing. You get a sense of victory...

I visited Koura Taisha Shrine on a Friday in August 2025, right in the summer heat. It was super peaceful—just a few foreigners and some locals resting after hiking up the mountain. The road is winding and small, adding a sense of adventure on the way up. The stairs to the shrine are steep and a bit of a workout, but you can take a lift if you’d rather skip the climb. Along the way, you pass traditional wooden buildings and smaller shrines that give the whole area a really authentic, serene vibe. At the top, the main shrine is beautiful, and you can offer a prayer if you’re interested in Shinto traditions. The viewing deck nearby offers a sweeping panorama of Kurume City and the surrounding hills. I bet it’s especially stunning in spring with cherry blossoms or in fall when the leaves...

It’s beautiful, but for hiking ( 30-40mins). The road leads to the shrine is very peaceful, and so nice. In the moutain, view is nice, but not great. We want to wait until the street light turn on. We wait from the sunset (5pm ) until it got dark (6pm) then we asked and knew that the lights only turned on 7pm. And u know, we are tourist, so we dont have car, we had to go hiking back to the station. When there was dark and no light, it’s so difficult to go down stairs in the forest. Luckily, there was another tourist friends also returned to the station and we walked together in the dark. We hope that light could be on sooner. And the transportation here could be better next time. ( we tried to book uber but there’s no uber. and the bus to the station is not available much...