Shrines in Hokkaido begin with one name. Search “hokkaido jingu” in the US and the nine results we read on October 10, 2026 were all pages about that single shrine in Sapporo; search “shrines in hokkaido” and none of the nine was a list across the island. This guide does both: Hokkaido Jingu in full, then nine more shrines in five cities, the order to visit them, winter, and how our classifier scored all ten.
What you’ll learn
- Why seven of the ten shrines here are younger than Kyoto’s or Tokyo’s famous names, and which ones claim older roots
- Hokkaido Jingu’s deities, gate hours for every month, access and the Sapporo Festival
- Nine more shrines city by city, including Sapporo’s own Fushimi Inari with its 27 torii
- A Sapporo morning, an Otaru hour and a Hakodate day, with published fares
- What winter changes, and the score sheet for all ten
What Counts as a Shrine in Hokkaido — and Why Most Are Young
Shrines in Hokkaido are Shinto jinja, and seven of the ten below were founded in 1868 or later, around the time Ezo was renamed Hokkaido.
Hokkaido Jingu’s own page on its precinct shrines notes that Ezo was renamed Hokkaido on the fifteenth day of the eighth month of 1869, and the shrines below follow that history. Nishino Shrine in Sapporo, for one, says it began in 1885 when five settler households built a small shrine to the deities of their home villages.
Three shrines in this guide name much older dates, two of them by tradition. Funadama Shrine in Hakodate dates itself to 1135. Hakodate’s city tourism site gives 1445 for Hakodate Hachimangu. Ubagami Daijingu in Esashi, by the town’s tourism page, was founded in 1447 according to tradition.
| Who counts | Figure | What it counts |
|---|---|---|
| Agency for Cultural Affairs, Religious Yearbook | 793 shrine bodies; 786 of them corporations | Registered religious bodies, as of December 31, 2024 |
| Hokkaido Association of Shinto Shrines | About 600 | Its member shrines, which it says are about 80% of the island’s Shinto corporations; no date given |
Neither figure is “the number of shrines in Hokkaido”. “Hokkaido temples and shrines” mixes two institutions; every place below is a jinja. A temple, or tera, enshrines a Buddhist image and belongs to a Buddhist order, as our English guide to Japanese shrines explains.
Ten Shrines in Hokkaido at a Glance
The ten shrines sit in five cities: three in Sapporo, two in Otaru, three in Hakodate, and one each in Asahikawa and Obihiro.
Founding years and access are each shrine’s own, or the city tourism site’s where the shrine has no site. Elements are explained further down.
| Shrine | City | Began | Getting there | Element, score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Jingu | Sapporo | 1869 | Subway Maruyama-koen, 15 min on foot | Earth, 75 |
| Sapporo Fushimi Inari | Sapporo | 1884 | Bus from Maruyama-koen to Jikeikai-mae, about 3 min | Earth, 105 |
| Nishino Shrine | Sapporo | 1885 | Not given on its site | Water, 60 |
| Sumiyoshi Shrine | Otaru | 1868 | JR Minami-Otaru, 8 min | Water, 105 |
| Ryugu Shrine | Otaru | 1876 | JR Otaru, about 5 min | Water, 60 |
| Hakodate Hachimangu | Hakodate | 1445 (city tourism site) | Tram to Yachigashira, 8 min | Water, 75 |
| Funadama Shrine | Hakodate | 1135, by its own account | Tram to Suehiro-cho, 10 min | Water, 60 |
| Yunokura Shrine | Hakodate | About 1453, by legend | Tram to Yunokawa, 1 min | Earth, 90 |
| Kamikawa Shrine | Asahikawa | 1893 | JR Kagura-oka, about 1.5 km | Fire, 60 |
| Obihiro Shrine | Obihiro | 1910 | JR Obihiro, about 28 min on foot | Earth, 75 |
Left out are the two Gokoku shrines, which enshrine the war dead and fall outside our classifier; Tarumaesan Shrine in Tomakomai; and Kushiro’s Itsukushima Shrine, which its own page says received its deity Ichikishimahime from the Itsukushima shrine in Aki, the subject of our Itsukushima Jinja guide.
Hokkaido Jingu: The Shrine Most Searches Mean
Hokkaido Jingu is the shrine behind “hokkaido shrine” and “hokkaido jingu”, in Maruyama, Sapporo, 15 minutes on foot from Maruyama-koen subway station.
The shrine’s one-line English page is titled “HOKKAIDO JINGU (Hokkaido Shrine)”, so both names are correct.
Deities and 1869
Hokkaido Jingu enshrines four deities: three known as the gods of settlement, and Emperor Meiji, added in 1964 when the shrine took its present name.
By its history page, the first rite for Okunitama, Onamuchi and Sukunahikona, the “three gods of settlement”, was held at the Department of Divinities in Tokyo on September 1, 1869, by order of Emperor Meiji; the shrine dates its founding to that rite. It was named Sapporo Shrine in 1871 and moved into new buildings on its present site at Maruyama that September. Emperor Meiji, also enshrined at Tokyo’s Meiji Jingu, was added in 1964, and the shrine became Hokkaido Jingu.
Gates, Hours and the Shrine Office
The gates open at 6:00 or 7:00 and close at 16:00 or 17:00, by month, with longer hours from December 31 to January 3.
The hours below are from the shrine’s access page. The shrine office, where amulets and the goshuin seal are given, opens at 9:00 and closes with the gates, by its amulets page.
| Period | Gates open | Gates close |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | 0:00 | 19:00 |
| January 2–3 | 6:00 | 18:00 |
| January 4–7 | 6:00 | 16:00 |
| January 8–31 | 7:00 | 16:00 |
| February | 7:00 | 16:00 |
| March | 7:00 | 17:00 |
| April 1–October 31 | 6:00 | 17:00 |
| November 1–December 30 | 7:00 | 16:00 |
| December 31 | 7:00 | 18:00 |
The shrine publishes no entrance fee. It does publish the price of its goshuin book, ¥1,500 since June 1, 2022, but not of the seal itself; our guide to goshuin explains how to ask for one. From Odori, Maruyama-koen is one fare zone on the Tozai line, ¥210 for adults. JR Bus also stops at “Hokkaido Jingu”, a minute from the grounds.
The annual festival, the Sapporo Festival, runs June 14 to 16: the eve rite at 18:00 on the 14th, the festival at 10:00 on the 15th, and on the 16th a procession of more than 1,000 people in period costume from 9:00.
Kaitaku Jinja and the Downtown Tongu
Two smaller shrines complete a visit: Kaitaku Jinja inside the grounds, and the Tongu, a place to worship from afar in central Sapporo.
Kaitaku Jinja, the Settlers’ Shrine, was dedicated on December 3, 1938, the 70th year of settlement, and now enshrines 37 people the shrine counts among Hokkaido’s pioneers; its festival falls on August 15. The Tongu dates from 1878, and its office opens 9:00 to 17:00 in summer and 9:00 to 16:00 in winter.
The Other Nine, City by City
The other nine shrines are grouped by city below, each with its deities, founding and the access its own site gives.
Sapporo: Fushimi Inari and Nishino Shrine
Sapporo’s Fushimi Inari is a branch of the Kyoto shrine with 27 vermilion torii, and Nishino Shrine grew from a settlers’ shrine of 1885.
Sapporo Fushimi Inari, which calls itself simply Fushimi Inari Shrine, was founded in April 1884 with a deity received from the Inari shrine in Fushimi, Kyoto, and moved to its present site on Mt. Moiwa in February 1907. Its own page says that, like the Kyoto shrine, it has a line of vermilion torii, “27 in all”. It enshrines five deities led by Ukanomitama, the rice deity of every Inari shrine. The access page gives a JR Hokkaido Bus from Maruyama-koen to Jikeikai-mae, then about three minutes on foot. Its first-design goshuin is ¥400. It bars professional photographers it has not designated. Earth 105.
Nishino Shrine, in Nishi Ward, enshrines Toyotamahime, Ugayafukiaezu and Hondawake. Its own site traces it to the five settler households of 1885 and to 1899, when several small village shrines were merged under the name Nishino Shrine. Water 60.
Otaru: Ryugu Shrine and Sumiyoshi Shrine
Otaru’s two shrines are a short walk from two stations: Ryugu about five minutes from Otaru, Sumiyoshi eight minutes from Minami-Otaru.
Ryugu Shrine’s own page says it began when Enomoto Takeaki enshrined his ancestor Emperor Kanmu, and was founded in 1876. It enshrines five deities led by Watatsumi, a sea deity. Its festival runs June 20 to 22, and its goshuin is ¥600. Water 60.
Sumiyoshi Shrine enshrines the three Sumiyoshi sea deities and Okinagatarashihime. Its history records the deity arriving from Hakodate and the first rite on August 3, 1868. The shrine says Ezo squirrels have begun to appear in the grounds and asks visitors not to feed them. Water 105.
Hakodate: Hachimangu, Funadama and Yunokura
Hakodate’s three shrines are all reached by tram, and all three name dates from before 1700, two of them by tradition.
Hakodate Hachimangu, by Hakodate’s city tourism site, was founded in 1445 and has stood on its present site since 1880; the hall dates from 1915. It is eight minutes from the Yachigashira tram stop, and its festival falls on August 14 and 15. The Hokkaido association’s page lists its deities as Hondawake, the Sumiyoshi deities and Kotohira. Water 75.
Funadama Shrine’s history says it was founded in 1135 to pray for safe voyages, and that it “is said to be” the oldest shrine in Hokkaido. It enshrines Shiotsuchi-no-oji, Owatatsumi and Susanoo, and is ten minutes on foot from the Suehiro-cho tram stop. Water 60.
Yunokura Shrine traces itself, by legend, to about 1453, when a woodcutter built a small shrine by a hot spring; it calls this the start of the Yunokawa hot spring. It lists three deities led by Onamuchi, and stands one minute from the Yunokawa tram stop. Earth 90.
Asahikawa and Obihiro: Kamikawa Shrine and Obihiro Shrine
Kamikawa Shrine and Obihiro Shrine are each a day trip from Sapporo by limited express, and both name Ezo squirrels in their woods.
Kamikawa Shrine was founded in July 1893 for Amaterasu, the sun goddess, and moved to Kagura-oka on June 6, 1924, by its own history. The access page gives about 1.5 km from Kagura-oka Station or a city bus to “Kamikawa Jinja”. Its precinct page names Ezo red foxes and Ezo squirrels in the park around it. Fire 60, the only Fire shrine of the ten.
Obihiro Shrine received its deities from Sapporo Shrine, now Hokkaido Jingu, on September 24, 1910 and enshrines the same three gods of settlement. Its own page says the gate is open 24 hours and the shrine office 9:00 to 17:00, and that every goshuin is now given on pre-written paper. Earth 75.
In What Order: A Sapporo Morning, an Otaru Hour, a Hakodate Day
Visit Hokkaido Jingu first, since it publishes the earliest opening; Otaru and Hakodate follow their stations and tram stops.
Hokkaido counted 3.31 million foreign visitors in fiscal 2025, but nobody publishes counts shrine by shrine, so this order rests on hours and access. JR times are from JR Hokkaido’s route search for a weekday in October 2026.
| Plan | Order | Getting around | Published fares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sapporo morning | Hokkaido Jingu, then Fushimi Inari | Subway to Maruyama-koen; JR Hokkaido Bus to Jikeikai-mae | Subway ¥210 a ride; one-day subway pass ¥830 on weekdays, ¥520 on weekends |
| Otaru hour | Ryugu, then Sumiyoshi | Walk from Otaru Station; JR to Minami-Otaru | Sapporo to Otaru ¥800, 35 to 41 min by rapid train |
| Hakodate day | Hachimangu, Funadama, Yunokura | Tram | ¥250 to ¥300 a ride; one-day ticket ¥800 |
| Asahikawa | Kamikawa | Limited express, 1 h 25 min | ¥5,440 with a reserved seat |
| Obihiro | Obihiro Shrine | Limited express, 2 h 21 to 2 h 42 min | ¥8,120 with a reserved seat |
Hakodate’s tram single fares have run ¥250 to ¥300 since December 1, 2025, so four rides pass the one-day ticket. Budget for lodging tax too: Hokkaido has charged one since April 2026, ¥100 to ¥500 per person per night, and Sapporo adds its own for a combined ¥300 to ¥1,000.
Hokkaido Shrines in Winter
In winter, Hokkaido Jingu keeps shorter hours, has paused writing in goshuin books, and sits under snow whose deepest January depth averages 76 cm.
| What changes | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gate hours | 7:00 to 16:00 from November 1 to February, except New Year | Hokkaido Jingu |
| Goshuin books | Writing in books paused December 1 to February 15, by a notice of November 18, 2024 | Hokkaido Jingu |
| January in Sapporo | Average −3.2°C; 137 cm of snowfall; deepest snow 76 cm (95 cm in February) | Japan Meteorological Agency, 1991–2020 normals |
| Snow Festival | February 4 to 11, 2027 | Sapporo Snow Festival |
| Tongu office | 9:00 to 16:00 in winter | Tongu |
That goshuin notice, for the 2024–25 winter, is the latest we found; check the news list for this winter. None of the ten shrines publishes a warning about icy paths, but at those snow depths shoes with grip are sensible.
New Year visits are called hatsumode. The newspaper Hokkaido Shimbun reported about 450,000 visitors over the first three days of 2026, without naming who counted them; the shrine publishes no figure.
From November 10 to 25, 2025, Hokkaido Jingu closed its grounds from 16:00 to 7:00 and shut two torii approaches after a bear sighting, then lifted the measures on November 25. As of October 10, 2026, the shrine’s news list carries no bear notice.
Five Elements Classification: The Score Sheet — and Hokkaido’s Missing Wind
Five of the ten score as Water, four as Earth, one as Fire, and none as Wind or Void, with every point shown.
This is Kannavi’s own classification, not a teaching of any shrine and not a fortune. The classifier reads four layers: a main deity is worth 60, each further deity 15, the terrain 15 or 25, the lineage 15. We have no terrain data for Hokkaido yet, so no shrine here gets terrain points. Confidence is high when the lead is clear, medium when a second element sits close. Deities went in as each shrine lists them.
| Shrine | Element | Score | Confidence | What produced the points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hokkaido Jingu | Earth | 75 | high | Okunitama, land +60; Sukunahikona +15; Emperor Meiji +15 Void |
| Sapporo Fushimi Inari | Earth | 105 | high | Ukanomitama, rice +60; Oyamatsumi +15; Okuninushi +15; Inari lineage +15 |
| Nishino Shrine | Water | 60 | medium | Toyotamahime, sea +60 |
| Sumiyoshi Shrine | Water | 105 | high | Sokotsutsunoo, sea +60; two Sumiyoshi deities +15 each; Sumiyoshi lineage +15 |
| Ryugu Shrine | Water | 60 | medium | Watatsumi, sea +60; Toyoukehime and Omononushi +15 Earth each |
| Hakodate Hachimangu | Water | 75 | high | Sumiyoshi deities +60; Kotohira +15; Hachiman lineage +15 Fire |
| Yunokura Shrine | Earth | 90 | high | Onamuchi, land +60; Sukunahikona +15; Ukanomitama +15 |
| Funadama Shrine | Water | 60 | medium | Owatatsumi, sea +60; Susanoo +15 Wind |
| Kamikawa Shrine | Fire | 60 | medium | Amaterasu, sun +60; Onamuchi and Sukunahikona +15 Earth each |
| Obihiro Shrine | Earth | 75 | high | Okunitama, land +60; Sukunahikona +15 |
Our dictionary missed some names. Hokkaido Jingu and Obihiro write Onamuchi in characters it lacks, though Yunokura’s spelling matches; run again with that spelling, the classifier returns Earth 90 for both, the same element; the table keeps each shrine’s own spelling. At Hakodate Hachimangu, the first-listed deity, Hondawake, also goes unmatched, so the Sumiyoshi deities lead; Nishino’s Hondawake, written differently, and Ugayafukiaezu score nothing too. Funadama’s first deity, Shiotsuchi-no-oji, is unmatched, so Owatatsumi leads. Outside the ten, Tarumaesan Shrine stays undetermined: its site writes Oyamatsumi in a form our dictionary lacks. Run again with Fushimi Inari’s spelling, the classifier returns Earth 60, medium; we keep the shrine’s own spelling and leave it undetermined.
The ring runs Earth, Fire, Void, Water, Wind and back to Earth, each element shifting the flow of the next; it is not a chart of good and bad pairings. These ten split in two: the gods of settlement score Earth, and the sea deities of Otaru and Hakodate score Water. Wind and Void are empty. A visitor after all five elements needs another region, such as our Kyoto list, where five shrines score as Wind.
Frequently Asked Questions
The seven questions below cover Fushimi Inari, the oldest shrine, fees, the festival, counts, squirrels and bears, drawing on the sources linked above.
Q. Is there a Fushimi Inari shrine in Hokkaido?
A. Yes: Sapporo’s Fushimi Inari Shrine, on Mt. Moiwa, received its deity from the Kyoto shrine in 1884 and moved to its site in 1907. It has 27 vermilion torii by its own count. The Kyoto shrine’s English FAQ gives around 10,000, so the two are not the same walk; our Fushimi Inari Taisha guide covers Kyoto.
Q. What is the oldest shrine in Hokkaido?
A. Two shrines are given the title, both on tradition, so no single answer can be confirmed. Funadama Shrine in Hakodate dates itself to 1135 and says it “is said to be” the oldest. Esashi’s tourism page calls Ubagami Daijingu the oldest shrine in Hokkaido, founded in 1447 by tradition. Hakodate’s tourism site gives 1445 for Hakodate Hachimangu.
Q. Does Hokkaido Jingu charge an entrance fee?
A. The shrine publishes no entrance fee on its site, and none of the ten shrines in this guide lists one. The shrine office opens at 9:00 and closes with the gates. Hokkaido Jingu lists its goshuin book at ¥1,500 but publishes no price for the seal itself, so ask at the office.
Q. When is the Sapporo Festival at Hokkaido Jingu?
A. The Sapporo Festival is Hokkaido Jingu’s annual festival, held June 14 to 16 every year. The eve rite starts at 18:00 on the 14th, the festival at 10:00 on the 15th, and the procession of more than 1,000 people at 9:00 on the 16th. The shrine notes that public schools in Sapporo take a half-day on June 15.
Q. How many shrines are there in Hokkaido?
A. There are two published figures, and they count different things, so neither is a census. The Religious Yearbook counts 793 shrine bodies in Hokkaido, 786 of them registered corporations, as of December 31, 2024. The gap of seven is bodies without corporate status. The Hokkaido Association of Shinto Shrines says about 600 shrines belong to it, with no date given; 600 is about 76% of 786, near the association’s own “about 80%”.
Q. Can you see squirrels at shrines in Hokkaido?
A. Two shrines say so on their own sites, and a third names squirrels in its forest. Otaru’s Sumiyoshi Shrine says Ezo squirrels have begun to appear in its grounds and asks visitors not to feed them. Kamikawa Shrine names Ezo squirrels and Ezo red foxes in its park. Obihiro Shrine calls its woods a forest where Ezo squirrels live.
Q. Are there bears near Hokkaido Jingu?
A. Bears have been seen nearby, though the shrine has posted no bear notice in 2026 as of October 10. Sapporo City recorded a sighting near the shrine’s parking lot on November 10, 2025, and the shrine limited its hours until November 25. Check the city’s sightings page before an early or late visit.
Summary
Ten shrines in five cities, seven of them founded in 1868 or later, with Hokkaido Jingu at the center of the search and of the settlers’ story.
- Hokkaido Jingu enshrines the three gods of settlement and Emperor Meiji; its gates open at 6:00 from April to October and at 7:00 in most other months.
- Sapporo’s Fushimi Inari has 27 torii by its own count; the Kyoto shrine has around 10,000.
- Funadama, 1135, by its own history, and Ubagami, 1447, by Esashi’s tourism page, are each called the oldest, both on tradition.
- In winter, check the goshuin book notice and the bear sightings page before you go.
- In the Kannavi classification, five of the ten score as Water, four as Earth, and none as Wind or Void.
Next: read our guides to Inari shrines and goshuin, compare the shrines in Tokyo and shrines in Kyoto, or return to the English guide to Japanese shrines.
Hokkaido’s oldest claims reach back to 1135, but seven of these ten shrines arrived with the towns from 1868 on, and the gods of settlement in Sapporo still tell that story.