Kanahebisui Shrine offers visitors a chance to flirt with fortune. Its main attraction is the row of jamon stones with snake patterns on them right outside the temple’s main building. People line up to rub each stone, a ritual said to bring wealth, luck, and healing. In Japan, snakes and dragons are associated with wealth and are seen as embodiments of the benevolent water god, hence the name Kanahebisui (lit. “Gold, Snake, Water”). The shrine grounds are also home to a sprawling, 300+ year old wisteria tree growing by a small pond. The shrine celebrates the blooming of the wisteria with an annual flower festival held mid-May.

The shrine also recently added a relaxation area called Sando Terrace which, in addition to a spacious open-air deck, features a cafe and shop. The shop sells sleek, design-conscious Shinto accoutrements, plus goods made by Miyagi artisans like Kuriya and Watalis. From the deck, you can gaze out at the shrine’s peony and rock gardens, to the hydrangea-covered hill beyond.