Omiwa Jinja

This guide to Omiwa Jinja near Nara follows the belief that a white serpent called Mi-san lives inside the huge cedar by the worship hall, fed with raw eggs left by worshippers, and identified as the shrine's own god, Omononushi, in one of his forms. It explains why the shrine has no main hall at all, and instead directs worship through a triple gate straight toward Mount Miwa rising behind the trees, forbidden to climbers for centuries. You'll also hear how that same cedar supplies sake breweries across Japan with the leafy sphere they still hang each year to mark a new brew.