Seeking True Love: Endless Crowds at Izumo Taisha and Yaegaki Shrine

Text & Photos /Annie

Because I saw a friend get married and have children shortly after praying for love at Izumo Taisha, I was inspired to visit Izumo, and also to pray for good relationships for my friends.

To get to Izumo Taisha, I stayed overnight in Okayama the night before, then took the first limited express train to Shimane at 7 a.m. Shimane is really far—the one-way trip takes nearly three hours!!! (The journey to find true love is no easy feat)

The interior of this limited express train is a bit old, and there’s no onboard vending service, so I had to buy snacks at Okayama Station to eat on the train.

After nearly three hours of rattling, we finally arrived in Izumo!!!! Hooray!!! First time setting foot in Shimane—I’ve now conquered two of Japan’s 47 prefectures (passing through Tottori counts too)

As soon as you exit the station, you can see the bus stop. There are also staff there to guide you, and everyone is taking the bus to Izumo Taisha. The bus was packed to the brim.

On the way to Izumo Taisha, there’s a bus stop called “Chibi Maruko,” which made me picture Chibi Maruko-chan and her friend going to pray for love.

Because it’s peak Obon holiday season in Japan, there were way too many worshippers at Izumo Taisha, causing serious traffic jams along the way. So the bus schedule is only for reference.

I took the bus straight to the main entrance and didn’t bother walking along the approach path.

The crowd during Obon is truly terrifying—even usually quiet Shimane was packed with people.

The legendary realm of the gods—Izumo Taisha.

The temizuya (hand-washing basin) was crowded with worshippers. The way you pray at Izumo Taisha is a bit different from other shrines, so I even looked it up in a book to brush up.

The Omikuji (fortune slips) here aren’t the most expensive.

The number of worshippers was overwhelming—I couldn’t believe I was still in Shimane (just kidding).

The area selling omamori (protective amulets) was also packed. Other than Kiyomizu-dera, I rarely see temples where you have to line up to buy omamori.

The legendary Enmusubi (love-binding) omamori at Izumo Taisha costs 1,000 yen? It sure felt pricey when I finally got mine in Shimane.

While buying an omamori, I also drew an omikuji. The fortune seemed pretty good—favorable for marriage, relocation, and travel.

I always thought you tied bad fortunes to trees, but at Izumo Taisha, good fortunes are tied to pine trees, and bad ones to cedar trees.

But I really can’t tell pine trees and cedar trees apart, so I just tied mine here (hopefully it’s not the wrong tree and my fortune doesn’t become invalid!!)

The Kagura Hall features Japan’s largest shimenawa (sacred straw rope), measuring 13.5 meters long and weighing 4.4 metric tons.

Up close, the shimenawa is truly awe-inspiring.

Standing under the shimenawa makes you feel incredibly small.

The crowds of worshippers never stopped—everyone came seeking love.

After visiting Izumo Taisha, I strolled along the approach path. It was so hot that I ducked into Starbucks to cool off.

Even the chalkboard inside Starbucks was decorated with an image of Izumo Taisha.

There was a limited-edition drink—it was super sweet, but I still prefer the sakura latte.

The food sold here wasn’t appealing to me, and almost every shop was fully packed.

Next, I headed back to Izumo Station to continue my journey to the next destination—the highlight of this trip, Yaegaki Shrine in Matsue.

There were campaign posters for the mascot everywhere we went this time—the world of mascots is really competitive. Thankfully, with our family's (?Crying Mom Dream’s?) status, we don’t need to personally run for office.

At the station, I saw a makunouchi bento for just 500 yen—it was the first time I’d bought one under 800 yen, and the best part is that it was delicious!!! (Once again, I shout: I love the countryside!)

It only took about half an hour to get to Matsue from Izumo City on the limited express. Matsue really is the city center of Shimane—it feels much more substantial here.

The bus stop for Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine; it takes about 15–20 minutes from Matsue Station to Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine.

Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine, another well-known shrine for tying the knot.

There were quite a few people at the shrine grounds.

The most famous thing at Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine is the Mirror Pond love fortune-telling—a hundred Q?? and you can only draw one slip from the very top section per person.

I was super nervous before the fortune-telling—if the result was bad, I probably would’ve gone home crying (how badly do I want to get married?).

Husband-and-Wife Pillars

The birthplace of wedding ceremonies—feels like a nice place to hold a wedding~

The famous Mirror Pond is located behind the shrine. As soon as I approached Mirror Pond, I could sense a different atmosphere compared to other places.

The fortune-telling method (?) for Mirror Pond involves placing 100 Q?? or 10 Q?? into the pond and dropping the slip you drew from the top section into the water, then waiting in five-minute intervals. The faster it sinks, the closer your romantic fate is; if it sinks closer to the edge, it means that person is nearby.

My hand was still shaking as I put the fortune slip into Mirror Pond—what if it just wouldn’t sink? (Pacing back and forth.) As soon as I dropped it into the water, I could see the slip saying "Signs of good luck are present," meaning an auspicious omen.

Unexpectedly, it started sinking from the middle within seconds.

It sank in less than a minute—the speed was hair-raising. Does that mean my romantic fate has arrived?!! I worried if it didn’t sink, and I was scared when it sank too fast—human psychology is truly contradictory.

Because my fortune slip sank so quickly, I ended up coldly watching everyone else afterward. I thought I might spend quite a bit of time at Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine, but the slip unexpectedly sank within a minute, so I felt reassured and went to take the bus. In total, I spent less than twenty minutes at Yakumo Hachimangu Shrine.

Annie @ Travel Food Play
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