7 snake-related Shrines to Visit in 2025, the Year of the Snake

The zodiac sign for 2025 (Reiwa 7) is the Year of the Snake. So, this time we will introduce snake-related shrines across Japan. If you visit a shrine that enshrines snakes, or get a goshuin stamp, amulet, or fortune slip with a snake motif, your luck is likely to improve. If you are wondering where to go for your New Year’s visit, please use this as a reference.

Table of Contents

• [Toyako Town, Hokkaido] Abuta Shrine
• [Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture] Kanahebisui Shrine
• [Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture] White Snake Benzaiten
• [Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo] Hebibo Shrine
• [Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture] Omiwa Shrine
• [Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture] Iwakuni White Snake Shrine
• [Minamiaso Village, Kumamoto Prefecture] Aso Shiramizu Dragon God

[Toyako Town, Hokkaido] Abuta Shrine

You might even encounter a snow-white snake! A shrine that is also known as a power spot

Abuta Shrine was given a branch shrine from Kyoto’s Fushimi Inari Shrine in 1804 (Bunka 1). It is located on the line that connects the mountain ranges said to be a dragon vein that connects Rishiri Fuji, Mt. Yotei, Lake Toya, and Mt. Komagatake, and is known as a power spot. In the past, a white snake lived behind the shrine, and it served the enshrined deity, Inari Okami. A white snow snake appeared at the torii gate, so the shrine distributes amulets with a picture of a white snake. Apparently, many people come to give thanks for their wishes being granted.

• ■ Abuta Shrine
• Location: 54 Aobacho, Toyakocho, Abutagun, Hokkaido
• Free to visit [Shrine office] 9:00-17:00
• Free admission
• How to get there: 10 minutes walk from Toya Station / 5 minutes drive from Abuta Toyako IC on the Hokkaido ExpresswayYes (free)
• For more information on Abuta Shrine, click here

[Iwanuma City, Miyagi Prefecture] Kanahebisui Shrine

Stroke the “serpentine” stone of your choice and receive the blessings of good fortune and wealth.

Kinsuihebi Shrine enshrines a golden snake as its deity, and the shrine’s blessings are good luck in terms of money and protection from misfortune. There are many serpentine stones with snake patterns floating inside them in the grounds, office, and worship hall, and they are said to bring good luck when stroked with a hand, and good luck when stroked with a wallet. It is recommended to choose which stone to stroke intuitively. In addition to snake amulets, there are also beautiful red seals for each season and event, and some people collect them. In the outer garden, there is a rest area and a restaurant where you can enjoy cafe menus with a white snake motif, so you can relax after worshiping.

• ■ Kanahebisui Shrine
• Location: Miyagi Prefecture, Iwanuma City, Sanshokuyoshi, Mizukami 7
• Free to visit [Shrine office] 8:00-16:00
• Free admission
• How to arrive: 10 minutes by taxi from Iwanuma Station / 20 minutes by car from Murata IC on the Tohoku Expressway
• Parking: Yes (free)
• More info

[Mooka City, Tochigi Prefecture] White Snake Benzaiten

After greeting the White Snake, wash your money at the “Money Luck Money Washing Waterfall”

Located in a residential area of ​​Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture, Hakuhebi Benzaiten is a shrine known for its two large and impressive white snakes and the benefits of increasing financial luck and inviting good fortune. The “Money Luck Zeniarai Waterfall” to the right of the worship hall has long been revered by many as a sacred water, and it is said that purifying money with this sacred water will increase your financial luck. In addition to charms and votive plaques with a white snake motif, the shrine plans to distribute white snake leather charms made from snake skin and special New Year’s goshuin stamps on black paper during the New Year’s visit to the shrine.

• ■ White Snake Benzaiten
• Location: 2-63 Kugeta Nishi, Moka City, Tochigi Prefecture
• Free to visit [Shrine office/Money Luck Zeniarai Falls] 9:00-16:00
• Free admission
• How to arrive: 8 minutes walk from Kugeta Station / 20 minutes by car from Moka IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway
• Parking: Available (free)
• More info

[Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo] Hebibo Shrine

Every 12 days on the day of the snake, you can meet the white snake Mi-kun and Shi-chan!

It was founded in a place formerly known as Hebi-Kubo, in gratitude for the relief it received from a severe drought. It is said that washing your coins at the White Snake Benzaiten, a shrine dedicated to a white snake that once lived next to the main shrine, will bring you good luck and wealth, and many people visit the shrine. On the snake day, which falls every 12 days, two white snakes, Mi-kun and Shi-chan, are on display, and on the Tsuchinotomi day, which falls every 60 days, paper cutouts of the White Snake Benzaiten and Tsuchinotomi goshuin are distributed. There is also a stroking white snake statue that is said to purify and cleanse the body.

• ■ Hebikubo Shrine
• Location: 4-4-12 Futaba, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
• Free to visit [Shrine office] 9:00-17:00
• Free admission
• How to arrive: 6 minutes walk from Nakanobu Station / 5 minutes by car from Shuto Expressway Togoshi Exit
• More info

[Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture] Omiwa Shrine

Let’s express our gratitude to Mr. Snake who protects our daily lives.

Mount Miwa in Nara Prefecture is itself a shrine that is worshipped as a deity, and instead of a main hall, people worship Mount Miwa through the three torii gates at the back of the worship hall. The enshrined deity is Omononushi no Okami, who appears in the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, and is the guardian deity of all aspects of human life, including agriculture, industry, and commerce. In mythology, Omononushi no Okami appears in the form of a snake, and even today snakes are affectionately referred to as Mi-san. Offerings of eggs, Mi-san’s favorite food, are placed all over the shrine grounds.

• ■ Omiwa Shrine
• Location: 1422 Miwa, Sakurai City, Nara Prefecture
• Free to visit [Shrine office] 9:00-17:00 (until 16:30 in winter)
• Free to visit
• How to arrive: 5 minutes walk from Miwa Station / 20 minutes by car from Tenri IC on the Nishi-Meihan Expressway
• More info

[Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture] Iwakuni White Snake Shrine

A shrine separated from Itsukushima Shrine, where there is a white snake outdoor breeding ground and a white snake viewing area.

Iwakuni Shirohebi Shrine was founded in 2012 (Heisei 24) for the protection and worship of the white snakes that live in Iwakuni City. It is a branch shrine of Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima Prefecture, a World Heritage Site, and its deities are the Munakata Three Goddesses and Ukanomitama no Kami. It is said to bring good luck in terms of money and road safety. On the premises, there is an outdoor white snake breeding facility and a white snake viewing area, and they also display the Iwakuni white snake, a national natural monument, and sell lucky charms containing white snake skins, so be sure to stop by.

• ■ Iwakuni White Snake Shrine
• Location: 6-4-2 Imazucho, Iwakuni City, Yamaguchi Prefecture
• 9:00-17:00 [Shrine office] 9:00-17:00 (You can write directly in the goshuin book until 16:30)
• Free to visit
• How to arrive: 13 minutes by bus from Iwakuni Station / 20 minutes by car from Iwakuni IC on the Sanyo Expressway
• More info

[Minamiaso Village, Kumamoto Prefecture] Aso Shiramizu Dragon God

Maybe the power of the cute white snake can improve your luck with money?

This shrine was built in 2000 after a white snake was found within the grounds. You can also worship the living white snake, an incarnation of Benzaiten, and it is also known as the “White Snake Shrine.” It is said to bring good luck in money, prosperity in business, children, and lottery winnings, and many people from outside the prefecture come to worship here. It is said that if you cleanse your money in the “Ryujin Pond” in front of Zeniarai Benten and stick it on the nearby five-yen coin stone tower to dry, your money will be even more lucky. You can also make a “wallet prayer” (1,000 yen donation) to have the white snake or gold snake sit on your wallet.

• ■ Aso Shiramizu Dragon God
• Location: 3290-1 Nakamatsu, Minamiaso Village, Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture
• Free to visit [Shrine office] 8:30am – 4:30pm
• Free admission
• How to arrive: 4 minutes by taxi from Nakamatsu Station / 50 minutes by car from Kumamoto IC on the Kyushu Expressway
• More info