Wakasa Province Ichinomiya
Wakasahiko Jinja (Upper Shrine)
若狭彦神社（上社）
Wakasahiko Jinja (Upper Shrine) is the ichinomiya — the leading shrine — of the former Wakasa Province, in present-day Fukui. It has a car park (about 5 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee. Opening hours end at 15:00 (shrine office). Without a car, a local tourism body gives 1 route from a station; the station names are listed below. Its principal annual festival (reisai) falls on October 10 every year. We found 2 entries for the shrine in Japan’s national database of designated cultural properties. The nearest other ichinomiya is Kehi Jingu, 34 km to the north-east in a straight line.
Getting there
福井県小浜市龍前 28-7
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
- From OpenStreetMap, as 若狭彦神社. Not checked on the ground
- Address
How to rent and drive a car in Japan →
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By train and bus
- From 東小浜駅JR
- By car, 5 min.
The source, word for word (bus stop names included):
JR東小浜駅から車で5分
Taken from a local tourism body (若狭彦神社（上社）｜ふくいドットコム, 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 5 spaces); the sources we checked do not give a fee.
料金は確認できず
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 15:00 (shrine office).
The full note from the source, in Japanese:
10:00-15:00（社務所は若狭姫神社に置かれ両社を兼務。地域の神事で職員不在の日がある）
Closing times of every ichinomiya, earliest first →
Visiting the 3 ichinomiya in Fukui in one day? Work out an order that reaches each office before it closes →
History in brief
- Founding
- According to tradition, Wakasahiko-no-kami and then Wakasahime-no-kami descended onto a great rock above a pool of the Onyu River.
- Founding
- After traveling around Wakasa seeking a permanent home, the deity was enshrined at Ryuzen on the 10th day of the 9th month of Reiki 1.
Summarised from the shrine's own website (若狭彦神社 上社（若狭彦神社）について | 若狭國一宮 若狭彦神社 公式サイト, checked 2026-10-08). Traditions are given as the shrine tells them, not as established history.
Enshrined deities
- Hikohohodemi-no-Mikoto 彦火火出見尊 6 ichinomiya enshrine this deity →
Spelling as given by the shrine's own website.
Goshuin (shrine seal)
- Available
- Yes
- Hours
- 10:00-15:00
- Offering
- ¥300
Nationally designated cultural properties
- 太刀〈銘宗□（宗近）／〉
- Important Cultural Property
- 詔戸次第〈乾元二年卯月廿一日／〉
- Important Cultural Property
Source: the national register. All of them together →
Festivals
- Principal annual festival
-
10月10日 若狭彦神社 例祭
source
Other festivals and rituals
- 遠敷祭り
- 10月10日前後の祝日
Nearest ichinomiya
The closest is Kehi Jingu, about 34 km to the north-east in a straight line, the ichinomiya of Echizen Province. After that come Kamowakeikazuchi Jinja (45 km south) and Kamomioya Jinja (48 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 Wakasa Province page.
Historical rank
- Province
- Wakasa Province (Hokurikudō)
- Prefecture
- Fukui
- Engishiki (927)
- Myōjin Taisha
- Former state rank (1871–1946)
- Kokuhei Chūsha
Sources
- https://wakasahiko-jinja.jp/gokito/ (checked 2026-09-09)
- https://www.fuku-e.com/spot/detail_1570.html (checked 2026-09-09)
How we handle spellings, festival selection, former ranks and map accuracy is set out once on the About page.