Hayasuihime-jinja, Oita

In the afternoon, we had decided to go to Hayasuihime-jinja Shinto shrine. In Japanese kanji notation, it is written as 早吸日女神社. It also sometimes described as 速吸日女神社.

The shrine is located in the former Saganoseki town, now merged with the city of Oita.

Ichi-no-torii at the entrance of the shrine.

The Somon.

Before going to the main temple, I washed my hands at Chozuya.

The second torii on sando (=road approaching a Shinto shrine) that leads to the main shrine.

The Izanagi-sha. As its name suggests, it is enshrined Izanagi, a deity born of the seven divine generations in Japanese mythlogy and Shinto.

Honden or the main shrine.

The main hall. The history goes back to 667 BC, when Emperor Jimmu launched a military expedition from Hyuga to Yamato, the ancient capital of Japan. The two gods of sea, Isago (黒砂) and Masago (真砂) who are sisters of Ama, took up the sword kept by the big octopus from the bottom of the sea and gave it to the emperor. He kept his sword as a sacred, and built a miniature shrine in the Furumiya district to pray for the god of Hayasui. 

Before going to Beppu, we took a short break at the Port of Saganoseki near the shrine. Saganoseki is a great place for fishing such as house mackerel. The town also boasts the copper plant operated by Nippon Mining and Metals company ltd, now known as JXTG Holdings.

A refinery plant of Nippon Mining and Metals Corp. commonly called as the Pan Pacific Copper factory.