Shimotsuke Province Ichinomiya
Nikko Futarasan Jinja
日光二荒山神社
Nikko Futarasan Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Shimotsuke Province, in present-day Tochigi. It has a car park (about 50 spaces), paid. Opening hours end at 17:00 (goshuin; visiting hours end at 16:00 from November to March). Without a car, a local tourism body gives 2 routes from a station (by bus); the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on April 17 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Utsunomiya Futaarayama Jinja, 34 km to the south-east in a straight line.
Getting there
栃木県日光市山内 2307
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 日光駅／東武日光駅JR日光線／東武日光線
- By bus, about 15 min.
- From 日光駅／東武日光駅JR日光線／東武日光線
- By bus, about 9 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR日光線「日光駅」／東武日光線「東武日光駅」から世界遺産めぐりバス乗車約15分、「大猷院・二荒山神社前」バス停から徒歩すぐ、 または中禅寺温泉方面行きバス乗車約9分、「西参道入口」バス停から徒歩約10分
Taken from a local tourism body (日光二荒山神社｜とちぎ旅ネット（公益社団法人栃木県観光物産協会）, 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 (about 50 spaces), paid.
本社駐車場は有料で50台。開場時間は4月〜10月が8時〜17時、11月〜3月が8時〜16時（日光市公式「日光バリアフリーマップ」）。公式サイトに駐車場の空き情報表示がある。
The note above is in Japanese; it usually records dates when the car park is closed, and the fee.
Shrine office hours
Opening hours end at 17:00 (goshuin; visiting hours end at 16:00 from November to March).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
御朱印 9:00-17:00／祈祷 9:00-16:30／神苑拝観 〜16:30。参拝時間は 4〜10月 8:00-17:00、11〜3月 9:00-16:00（とちぎ旅ネット。日光旅ナビは11〜3月 8:00-16:00 とし食い違いがある）
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 2 ichinomiya in Tochigi in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- History
- Revered as the center of mountain worship in Nikko, the shrine had many buildings constructed in the medieval period.
- Buildings
- The main hall was built in 1619 and moved slightly in 1645.
- Buildings
- The main hall, in the yatsumune style, was donated by Tokugawa Hidetada.
- Buildings
- The Shinkyo bridge was washed away by a flood in 1902 and rebuilt faithfully to its original form in 1904.
Summarised from the local authority (日光の社寺：二荒山神社／日光市公式ホームページ, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Onamuchi-no-Mikoto 大己貴命 17 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
Nikko's and Tochigi's tourism sites describe the principal deity, Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto, as a god of good fortune and of marriage.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the prefectural shrine office or local authority.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Hours
- 9:00-17:00
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
4月17日 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 弥生祭
- 4月12日〜4月17日
- 開山祭
- 5月25日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Utsunomiya Futaarayama Jinja, about 34 km to the south-east in a straight line, in the same province. After that come Tsutsukowake Jinja (75 km east) and Tsutsukowake Jinja (76 km north-east).
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
Documented by a public source
A public body — the city, the prefecture, or the prefectural shrine office — describes this shrine as the ichinomiya of its province.
Listed on the map published by the Ichinomiya Pilgrimage Association.
Nikko City’s official tourism site says: “It has long been revered as the ichinomiya of Shimotsuke Province and has drawn worship.” No source document is named.
- https://www.nikko-kankou.org/spot/4 (checked 2026-09-09)
- 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 Shimotsuke Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Shimotsuke Province (Tōsandō)
- Prefecture
- Tochigi
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kanpei Chūsha
Sources
- https://www.nikko-kankou.org/spot/4 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.tochigiji.or.jp/spot/s6161 (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.city.nikko.lg.jp/material/files/group/19/nikkobarrierfreemap-2.pdf (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.futarasan.jp/ (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.