246 ~ Toyokawa Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  豊川稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Toyokawa Inari Jinja
English Translation: Bountiful River Inari Shrine
Size: Medium side shrine of Najima Jinja
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 2
First Visit: 1-Oct-2018
Location: Fukuoka
Address: 1 Chome-26-1 Najima, Higashi Ward, Fukuoka, 813-0043
Coordinates: 33.6460095,130.4227185

The first fox shrine I should find in Fukuoka (福岡 "Lucky Hill"), this one is a side shrine of Najima Jinja (名島神社 "Famous Island Shrine"), and overlooks the bay spanned by the Kashii Kamome Oobashi (香椎かもめ大橋 "Incense Mallet Gull Great Bridge") from atop a forested hill. A pair of life-sized stone foxes watch over this shrine. This is notably also one of several branch shrines of Toyokawa Inari scattered across the land.

🡻Tottori/Shimane - Fukuoka🡹

This is just a marker post. All shrines before this post were in Tottori or Shimane (my home base for this last segment was near the border, so these are a bit mixed), and all Shrines until the next marker are in (or near) Fukuoka on Kyushu.

245 ~ Oogami Okunomiya Shimoyama Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  大神奧宮下山神社
Romanized Reading: Oogami Okunomiya Shimoyama Jinja
English Translation: Great God Inner Hall Lower Mountain Shrine
Size: Tiny side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja
Deity: Inari?
Fox Count: 7
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Odaka
Address: 1025 Odaka, Yonago, Tottori 689-3514
Coordinates: 35.4176019,133.4059709

The other foxy side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja, and the last shrine I should find in the Tottori/Shimane area. This one again might be an Inari shrine on account of the the two life-sized stone foxes sitting to the sides, in conjuncture with the five tiny porcelain foxes around the main... uhhh... rocks. Someone has also gathered a bunch of chestnuts as an offering. How thoughtful.
 

244 ~ Asamiya Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  朝宮神社
Romanized Reading: Asamiya Jinja
English Translation: Morning Hall Shrine
Size: Small side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja
Deity: Inari?/Amaterasu?
Fox Count: 6
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Odaka
Address: 1025 Odaka, Yonago, Tottori 689-3514
Coordinates: 35.4176019,133.4059709

A small fox shrine that I should find on my return trip from climbing Mt. Daisen. This one is a side shrine of Oogamiyama Jinja (大神山神社 "Great God Mountain Shrine"), and there's a tiny lone foxy sitting in front of it, making a kinda lost impression. As such, I figure that the chance of it enshrining Inari is actually pretty low. Another educated guess from the name might be Amaterasu, but without a clear indication, both of these are just guesses.
 

243 ~ Shimoyama Kannondou (Temple)

Japanese Name:  下山観音堂
Romanized Reading: Shimoyama Kannondou
English Translation: Lower Mountain Kannon Hall
Size: Big side temple of Daisenji
Deity: Kannon
Fox Count: 6
First Visit: 23-Sep-2018
Location: Daisen
Address: 9 Daisen, Daisen-chō, Saihaku-gun, Tottori-ken 689-3318
Coordinates: 35.3911499,133.5343679

The first fox place that I should find on my epic ride and hike up Mt. Daisen on the autumn equinox of 2018. This one is located at over 800m (and I started from sea level), this one is close to halfway up. A side temple of Daisenji (大山寺 "Great Mountain Temple"), this one is one of those rare Buddhist temples that feature foxes as their guardians. A pair of life-sized stone foxes wearing Shimenawa collars watch over this temple, and to their feet sit two small-to-tiny stone foxes each.
 

242 ~ Yodoe Rokkuno Inari Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  淀江六区稲荷神社
Romanized Reading: Yodoe Rokkuno Inari Jinja
English Translation: Creek Bay Sixth Ward Inari Shrine
Size: Tiny
Deity: Inari
Fox Count: 23
First Visit: 20-Sep-2018
Location: Yodoe
Address: 551 Yodoecho Yodoe, Yonago, Tottori 689-3402
Coordinates: 35.4584607,133.429042

A tiny fox shrine not far from the Yodoe station. This is the one and only fox shrine I should find today, but in exchange, it features almost two dozen foxes: two life-sized stone foxes, and 21 tiny porcelain foxes.
 

Dragon 1 ~ Kayashima Jinja

 

Japanese Name:  蚊屋島神社
Romanized Reading: Kayashima Jinja
English Translation: Mosquito Net Island Shrine
Size: Big
Deity: ?
Dragon Count: 1
First Visit: 18-Sep-2018
Location: Hiezu
Address: 380 Hiezu, Hiezu-son, Saihaku-gun, Tottori-ken 689-3553
Coordinates: 35.4378235,133.3799936

The first proper dragon shrine that I find in all of Japan. Actually, a lot of shrines and temples feature dragons as design elements, but those really just feel like a supporting feature. This shrine, by contrast, has a huge and detailed dragon carving right in the very center, which makes it stand apart from other shrines, so that's why I wanted to point this one out.