Between Nikko Station and Shinkyo Bridge is Shōichii Inari Shrine in Nikko.
All that is known about this shrine is that it is a historical shrine built during the Kamakura period (est. 1218) and there is a huge large rock in the area.
I read that back in the 1662, there was a natural lake near the mountain and one day, due to heavy rainfall, it flooded and flowed downstream. And the shrine was created as a sanctuary.
The inside of the shrine is often open to people who come during the day. The guardians of the shrine are two Kitsune (foxes).
The water is said to be natural water from the mountain springs. Here are tips about drinking water from chozuya/temizuya.
Located in the front yard are these stones. Not sure what they are exactly, but definitely not grave stones as they don’t have any markings.
I’m going to take a gander and guess the “big rock” is this one and not the one with Japanese lettering.
But for the most part, “Shōichii Inari Shrine” in Nikko is a small shrine similar to other smaller shrines in the Nikko region and whether or not it’s worth visiting, depends if you like seeing smaller shrines and if you are planning to make the walk from the station to the main historic areas in Nikko.
