Mikawa Province Ichinomiya
Toga Jinja
砥鹿神社
Toga Jinja is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Mikawa Province, in present-day Aichi. It has a car park (about 200 spaces), free. Opening hours end at 16:30 (shrine office). Without a car, the shrine's own website gives 1 route from a station (on foot), one of them a walk of about 5 min; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on May 4 every year. The nearest other ichinomiya is Okuni Jinja, 44 km to the east in a straight line.
Getting there
愛知県豊川市一宮町西垣内2
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.
Before you drive here
There is a notice about reaching this shrine by car — it may concern road closures at New Year, vehicle size limits, which way you can turn into the car park, or satellite navigation giving the wrong place. The Japanese text reads:
交通安全祈願の方は、表門にある車両入口から車両御祓所にお車をお停めください（西門側の大駐車場ではありません）。
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
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 三河一宮駅JR飯田線
- On foot, about 5 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
最寄りの駅は、JR飯田線「三河一宮駅」になります。駅の出口から東方面へお向かいください。三河一宮駅からは徒歩約5分になります。
Taken from the shrine's own website (アクセス｜三河國一之宮「砥鹿神社」, 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 200 spaces), free.
This routes you to the car park, not to the hall. From this car park to the hall is about 150 m in a straight line (the walk is longer).
里宮の無料駐車場は2か所で、表門に約30台、西門に約170台。台数の多い「大駐車場」は西門側にあり、そこからは西神門を通って境内に入ります。奥宮にも無料駐車場があります。初詣の際は近隣に臨時駐車場が用意されます。
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 16:30 (shrine office).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
8:30-16:30
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 3 ichinomiya in Aichi in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- Founding
- In the Taihō era (701–704), following an oracle, a hall was built in the village; the summit shrine became the Okumiya and the village hall the Satomiya.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (砥鹿神社とは｜砥鹿神社, 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 →
The shrine's website describes Ōnamuchi-no-Mikoto (Ōkuninushi) as the chief of the earthly gods in Japanese myth, revered as Daikoku-sama: a god of good fortune, of opening up the land and of marriage, prayed to for safe travel, family prosperity and protection from misfortune.
Our English summary of the Japanese description. Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Hours
- 8:30-16:30
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
5月4日 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 流鏑馬式
- 5月4日
- 神幸祭
- 5月4日
- 田遊祭
- 1月3日
- 粥占祭
- 1月15日
- 火舞祭
- 2月7日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Okuni Jinja, about 44 km to the east in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Totomi Province. After that come Kotonomama Hachimangu (60 km east) and Izawa Jinja (66 km south-west).
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 Mikawa Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Mikawa Province (Tōkaidō)
- Prefecture
- Aichi
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kokuhei Shōsha
Sources
- https://www.togajinja.or.jp/visit/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.togajinja.or.jp/access/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.togajinja.or.jp/stroll/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://aichinow.pref.aichi.jp/spots/detail/1959/ (checked 2026-09-10)
- https://www.togajinja.or.jp/about/ (checked 2026-09-10)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.