The oldest and most venerated shrine in Fukuoka, founded in the 8th century and guardian of the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival; free access.
The Kushida-jinja shrine is the tutelary shrine of Hakata, the historic district of Fukuoka, with a history going back to the year 757. It is dedicated to three deities: Amaterasu, the sun goddess, Okuninushi and Susanoo, and has been the spiritual centre of the Hakata community for more than 1.200 years. What makes Kushida-jinja a must-visit to understand Fukuoka is its direct connection to the Hakata Gion Yamakasa Festival: the shrine is the starting point of the race of the enormous floats (kazari yamakasa) that reaches its climax every 15 July at dawn, when the bearers push the bamboo-and-lacquer constructions weighing up to a tonne in a 5 km race timed to the second. The shrine displays one of the decorative kazari yamakasa —more than ten metres tall— in a side hall of the precinct all year round. Access to the precinct and the kazari is free. The shrine is right in the heart of mercantile Hakata, a five-minute walk from Hakata station, between Kawabata street and the covered market.
