Oyama Shrine

This guide to Oyama Shrine in Kanazawa starts with an unusual detail: the tall eastern gate, finished in 1875, was fitted with Japan's first lightning rod, evidence of how seriously the shrine took the unseen forces it was built to honor. You'll hear the legend of the dragons carved into that gate, said to have come alive to douse a fire that could have destroyed the compound, and the story of Toshiie Maeda, the warlord who built Kanazawa's castle town and is enshrined here beside his wife. Along the way there's a stone worn smooth by generations of hands seeking health and strength, and an amulet modeled on a warrior's own battle helmet. Look for the dragons coiled above the threshold as you pass beneath the gate.