WHAT TO SEE

Located east of Izumo Ōyashiro (Izumo Taisha Grand Shrine) along the picturesque Sha-ke Street, Kitajima Kokusokan serves as another place for the deities of Izumo Taisha to reside. Anyone is welcome to visit, and the atmosphere is completely different from that of Izumo Ōyashiro. Although the two are physically connected by a short path, few people venture over, so Kitajima Kokusokan is serene and sparsely populated. Visitors can roam the shrine grounds, appreciate the scenery and pray in a quiet and peaceful environment.　
Most weekends, however, the shrine holds multiple traditional style Shinto wedding ceremonies, so you may have a chance to see Japanese-style wedding if you happen to come at the right time!

In addition to small shrines to various kami deities, there is a waterfall that has been called “Turtle Tail Falls” since its appearance was compared to the shape of a turtle’s tail in a poem during the Meiji era. There is a pond at the bottom roughly in the shape of the kanji character for “heart,” leading to the name “Heart Mark Pond” (“Shinjike”). Turtles and koi fish populate the pond, and it is possible to buy special food to feed them. The mountain behind the shrine complex is called Kame-yama, or Turtle Mountain, as it resembles the shape of a crouching turtle when viewed from the gardens, and has been song about as a famous place in songs since ancient times.
There is not one, but two historic gates on the property, the O-mon dedicated in 1859, and Shikyaku-mon which was present behind the shrine in 1667. As the oldest structure in the Izumo Taisha Shrine area, it is designated as a Prefectural Cultural Property.