Kuzuryu Shrine Shingu

Tucked within the grounds of Hakone Shrine, Kuzuryu Shrine Shingu is the more accessible companion to the original lakeside Hongu, built in 1999 so that devotees of the nine-headed dragon deity need not venture out to the forest edge of Lake Ashi. The shrine's most quietly captivating feature is its fountain: nine carved dragon heads from which natural spring water flows continuously, and visitors fill bottles to carry a little of that good fortune home with them.

When to go

The shrine is open around the clock every day of the week, which makes early morning visits particularly rewarding: the air is cool, the stone paths are unhurried, and the sound of flowing water carries clearly before the broader Hakone Shrine grounds grow busy.

“Originally established in the year 757, the Nine-Headed-Dragon Shrine [Kuzuryu-jinja] reveres a nine-headed dragon. According to ancient legend, the dragon who lived at the bottom of Lake Ashi demanded a human sacrifice from the local villagers. A monk named Mangan Jyonin saved the villagers by subduing the dragon causing it to renounce its evil ways. The dragon became revered as a dragon king, an”— Pix4Japan池谷 大星, Google review