A double typhoon and suboptimal planning kept us from doing the Hakone Loop on our arrival but I was determined that the day would not be a total loss. I knew (or at least thought I knew) that the Hakone Shrine was within walking distance to the hotel so I went to the front desk and asked for directions.
Turns out I should have been more specific when I asked for directions to the shrine but I grabbed an umbrella and headed out to the trail that the helpful woman at the front desk said would lead me there. It was only raining lightly and I followed the lovely path through the woods and along the lake for about 20 minutes before arriving at the shrine’s entrance.
I paid the ¥600 fee (only the second shrine/temple that we visited that charged a fee) and headed in. There was a small garden area at the entrance leading to a path into the forest. The path was paved and wound through the trees, with the lake close by on the left hand side. Before long a torii gate floating in the water became visible through the trees.
After about 5 minutes I came upon a small, brightly painted vermillion shrine. It stood out against the greenery of the forest. Given its small size and the fact that I thought I was at Hakone Shrine, I figured this was just a secondary building on the outskirts of the main shrine.
I walked past the small building and followed the path down towards the water, passing by an elaborate dragon fountain. The level of detail in the dragon statue was amazing and I lingered for a while admiring it.
This is where I started to get confused. The path beyond this point seemed to get more remote and it certainly didn’t feel like I could be heading towards the most visited site in Hakone. To this point, I had only seen one person (which seemed odd but not unreasonable given the weather) and it seemed unlikely I would see anymore down my current path. Not to mention that the torii gate in the water was far from land and small and certainly not like what I had seen in pictures. I started googling whether the Hakone Shrine had multiple torii gates and was somewhat relieved when I found that it did.
So I pressed on. But it soon became abundantly clear that I was headed further into the wilderness and not towards a well-visited shrine. The path became more remote, with fallen trees laying across it and sections that were not obviously leading in a certain direction. I worried that if I continued I wouldn’t be able to find my way back and since it was getting late, I did not want to be navigating back in the dark. I turned around and headed back, certain that I was not where I wanted to be and worried that I was already lost. Thankfully even though there were multiple paths, I realized that if I kept the lake on my right, I would eventually make my way out.
And obviously I did. I was relieved to come across the dragon fountain and shrine again. I exited the grounds and made my way back along the path to the hotel.
A quick glance at a map when I got back to the hotel showed me that I had been at Kuzuryu Shrine Hongu, a shrine dedicated to the nine-headed dragon god of water. Legend has it that a dragon lived in Lake Ashinoko and tormented local residents. A monk was able to subdue the dragon through 3 days and nights of prayer, and the dragon repented and became a guardian diety that is now enshrined at the site. On the 13th of every month, a Shinto prayer ceremony takes place and locals come seeking blessings in love and marriage. (Note that there are two Kuzuryu Shrines – Hongu is the original sanctuary located in the woods of Hakone Kuzuryu-no-mori and Shingu is the new shrine built on the grounds of Hakone Shrine in order to be more accessible.)
Despite missing out on the actual Hakone Shrine, I enjoyed my little misadventure. The woods were lovely and felt especially peaceful in the light rain. The dragon fountain was beautiful, somehow both simple and elaborate at the same time. And I immediately found it humorous that I completely botched yet another part of this side trip. I was glad I hadn’t dragged anyone else along with me because they might not have found it so funny. But in travel, you have to be able to find joy in the unplanned moments and I’m so glad I got to visit Kuzuryu Shrine Hongu (even if I didn’t know that’s where I was at the time).
