Ezo Province Treated as ichinomiya
Hokkaido Jingu
北海道神宮
Hokkaido Jingu is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Ezo Province, in present-day Hokkaido. It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee. Opening hours end at 17:00 (charm and goshuin counter; 18:00 from January 1 to 3; 16:00 from January 4 to the end of February; 16:00 from November 1 to December 30). Without a car, the prefectural shrine association gives 2 routes from a station (on foot, by bus), one of them a walk of about 12 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on June 15 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Iwakiyama Jinja, 282 km to the south in a straight line.
Getting there
北海道札幌市中央区宮ヶ丘 474
The address is given in Japanese on purpose. Show it to a taxi driver, or copy it into a car navigation system — an English transliteration will not be recognised.
For a car navigation system
- Phone
- Japanese car navigation searches by phone number. This is the fastest way to enter a destination.
- Coordinates
- Derived from the address down to the street number, via Japan's national mapping agency. Not a survey of the hall itself
- Address
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By train and bus
- From 円山公園駅地下鉄東西線
- On foot, about 12 min.
- From 円山公園駅地下鉄東西線
- By bus, 3 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR札幌駅より地下鉄南北線大通駅で東西線に乗換え円山公園駅下車徒歩約12分、円山バスターミナルより（市営 荒井山線西14・動物園線西15・宮の森線西20・ばんけいバス）神宮前下車徒歩3分
Taken from the prefectural shrine association (北海道神宮 - 北海道神社庁のホームページ, checked 2026-10-08). Station and stop names stay in Japanese so you can match them to signs. Fares and timetables are not given — they change.
Parking
It has a car park; the sources we checked give neither its size nor a fee.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. From this car park to the hall is about 100 m in a straight line (the walk is longer). The location is taken from OpenStreetMap and has not been checked on the ground.
Shrine office hours
Opening hours end at 17:00 (charm and goshuin counter; 18:00 from January 1 to 3; 16:00 from January 4 to the end of February; 16:00 from November 1 to December 30).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
授与品・御朱印は通常日9:00〜閉門。開門 4/1-10/31 6:00-17:00／3月 7:00-17:00／11/1-12/30 7:00-16:00／2月 7:00-16:00。正月は大晦日 7:00-17:00、元旦 0:00-18:00（授与は0:00から）、1/2-3 6:00-18:00（授与は6:30から）、1/4-1/31 7:00-16:00（1/4-7の授与は7:00から）
History in brief
- Founding
- On September 1, Meiji 2, by Emperor Meiji's will, the three pioneer deities were enshrined at the Jingikan in Tokyo as guardians of Hokkaido.
- Moved
- The deities moved to a temporary hall in Meiji 3 and, in September of Meiji 4, to the newly completed halls at Maruyama, the present site.
- Name
- It was named Sapporo Jinja in Meiji 4 and renamed Hokkaidō Jingū in Shōwa 39, when Emperor Meiji was added as an enshrined deity.
- Buildings
- Halls built in Shōwa 39 were destroyed by arson in November of Shōwa 49 and restored in Shōwa 53.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (由緒｜北海道神宮, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Okunitama-no-Kami 大国魂神
- Onamuchi-no-Mikoto 大那牟遅神 17 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Sukunahikona-no-Mikoto 少彦名神 5 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
- Meiji-Tenno 明治天皇
The shrine's website says it enshrines Ōkunitama-no-Kami, Ōnamuchi-no-Kami, Sukunahikona-no-Kami and Emperor Meiji.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
6月15日 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 札幌まつり
- 6月14日・15日・16日
- 御鎮齋記念祭
- 9月1日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Iwakiyama Jinja, about 282 km to the south in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Tsugaru Province. After that come Komagata Jinja (436 km south) and Chokaizan Omonoimi Jinja (459 km south).
Straight-line distances between the shrines, not road distances. Across mountains or water, the drive is much longer.
Why this shrine is called an ichinomiya
Listed by the pilgrimage association
It appears on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association. We have not yet checked other primary sources.
- 全国一の宮巡拝会『全国一の宮神社所在地』（平成30年5月・改訂版 第4版） (checked 2026-09-09)
More on how the shrines of this province relate to one another is on the Ezo Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Ezo Province (Shin-Ichinomiya)
- Prefecture
- Hokkaido
- Engishiki (927)
- Not listed in the Engishiki
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kanpei Taisha
Sources
- http://www.sapporo.travel/find/culture/hokkaido_shrine/?lang=jp (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.hokkaidojingu.or.jp/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://hokkaidojinjacho.jp/%E5%8C%97%E6%B5%B7%E9%81%93%E7%A5%9E%E5%AE%AE/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.sapporo.travel/find/culture/hokkaido_shrine/ (checked 2026-10-29)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.