Gunma Prefecture sits directly north of Tokyo, separated from the Kanto plain by a ring of volcanic peaks that have shaped the region’s spiritual character for over a thousand years. The mountains here — Haruna, Akagi, Myogi — are not simply scenic backdrops. Each has been a site of continuous religious practice since at least the Nara period (710–794 AD), and each carries a distinct spiritual identity rooted in the particular character of its landscape: volcanic rock formations, mist-filled forest gorges, crater lakes, and the sulfuric heat that rises from the earth itself.
The concept of a “power spot” (パワースポット) in modern Japanese travel culture draws on much older ideas about sacred geography — the belief that certain landscapes concentrate spiritual energy, and that time spent in them can shift the direction of one’s life. Gunma’s sacred sites are among the most compelling in the entire Kanto region, and they remain relatively uncrowded compared to the shrines of Nikko or Kamakura. This guide covers the five most significant, with practical information for each.
Haruna Shrine — Volcanic Gorge Power
Haruna Shrine (榛名神社) is widely regarded as the single most atmospherically powerful shrine in the Kanto region, and the landscape alone justifies that reputation. The shrine sits deep inside a narrow mountain gorge formed by volcanic activity, where sheer cliff faces of ancient volcanic rock rise on both sides of a cedar-lined approach path. The walk from the main gate to the inner sanctuary takes about fifteen minutes and covers ground that feels progressively more removed from ordinary life with each step.
The main hall is built directly against a cliff face, and behind the inner sanctuary, a massive volcanic rock pillar known as Mishaguji-iwa rises dramatically above the rooflines. The effect of standing before the main hall — enclosed by forest, rock face, and the vertical pillar above — is difficult to describe but immediate. This is a place that reads as sacred before you have had any time to think about it.
The deities enshrined here are Hinokagutsuchi-no-Kami (a fire deity) and Takaokami-no-Kami (a water and rain deity). The pairing of fire and water reflects the volcanic nature of the mountain itself, and Haruna Shrine has been a destination for prayers related to success in endeavors, abundant harvests, warding off misfortune, and — particularly — love and marriage (縁結び, en-musubi). Its reputation for 縁結び is strong enough that couples and young women visiting Gunma often include Haruna as an essential stop.
Visiting Haruna Shrine
Access: By car, approximately 30 minutes from Takasaki. By public transport, take a bus from Takasaki Station bound for Haruna Jinja (approximately 60 minutes; check Gunma Bus timetables for current schedules). Entry: Free. Hours: Open daily; the inner sanctuary closes at dusk. Best time to visit: Dawn, when mist rises from the gorge forest and the approach path is quiet. Autumn foliage season (mid-October to early November) is exceptional but draws larger crowds. Arrive as early as possible to walk the approach in silence.
Akagi Shrine — Island Shrine on a Caldera Lake
Mt. Akagi is a dormant stratovolcano whose summit has collapsed to form a broad caldera containing two lakes — the larger Lake Onuma and the smaller Lake Koguma. Akagi Shrine (赤城神社) stands on a small wooded island in Lake Onuma, connected to the shore by a striking red bridge that arches over the water. The combination of volcanic crater, open lake, island shrine, and wide Kanto sky creates an environment with a different quality from Haruna’s enclosed gorge — here, the feeling is exposed and elemental rather than intimate.
Akagi Shrine is one of three historically significant shrines associated with the three main Gunma peaks (Haruna, Akagi, Myogi), and it has been venerated for well over a thousand years. The deity enshrined here, Akagi-no-Kami, is associated with general spiritual fortification, health, and prosperity. The shrine’s reputation spans practical concerns: business success, family safety, good fortune in competitive endeavors. Unlike Haruna’s strong focus on love and relationships, Akagi functions more as an all-purpose spiritual anchor — a place to come when you want to feel grounded and renewed.
Early morning visits are particularly atmospheric. When mist sits on the surface of Lake Onuma and the red bridge emerges gradually from the white air, the scene is one of the most striking in the entire Kanto region. The summit of Mt. Akagi stands at approximately 1,800 metres, and the caldera climate is distinctly cooler than the plains below — bring an extra layer even in summer.
Visiting Akagi Shrine
Access: By car, approximately 40 minutes from Maebashi City. The Akagi Mountain Road (赤城山道路) is toll-free. By public transport, Gunma Bus runs services from Maebashi Station on weekends and during peak seasons, but a car is strongly recommended for flexible access to the summit. Entry: Free. Best time: Early morning for mist; mid-October to early November for autumn colour on the caldera rim.
Ikaho Shrine — Healing Steps at the Top
The town of Ikaho Onsen is built vertically up a steep hillside, and its central feature is a long staircase of 365 stone steps that climbs from the lower town to Ikaho Shrine (伊香保神社) at the top. The number 365 is deliberate — the steps are said to correspond to the days of the year, and walking the full staircase is understood as a kind of pilgrimage, a year’s worth of spiritual effort condensed into a single ascent. Running alongside the steps is a channel of the iron-rich spring water that gives Ikaho its distinctive amber-coloured baths; the faint mineral smell of the water accompanies the entire climb.
The shrine itself is dedicated to Ōnamuji-no-Mikoto and Sukunabikona-no-Mikoto — deities associated with medicine, healing, love, and (for the latter) sake brewing. Ikaho Shrine has an unusually strong double reputation: it is sought out both for 縁結び (drawing good relationships toward you) and 縁切り (ending connections that no longer serve you). The combination makes it popular with visitors at transitional moments in life — the end of a relationship, the beginning of a new chapter, or simply a desire for personal renewal.
The town’s stone steps and surrounding shops selling Ikaho’s famous water candy and Gunma daruma are lively during tourist hours, but if you arrive before 8:00 AM the steps will be nearly empty, the mineral-water channel quiet, and the upper shrine approached in the kind of silence that allows the place to register properly.
Visiting Ikaho Shrine
Access: By bus from Shibukawa Station (Joetsu/Agatsuma Line, 25 minutes from Takasaki), approximately 25 minutes to Ikaho Onsen bus stop. Walk up the 365 steps from the main shopping street to the shrine. Entry: Free. Best time: Early morning before tourist traffic.
Shorinzan Darumaji Temple — Manifesting Goals in Zen
Most visitors to Gunma encounter the daruma doll as a souvenir — the rounded, red, weighted figure with blank white eyes that rocks and rights itself when pushed. Fewer understand where it comes from. Shorinzan Darumaji (少林山達磨寺) in Takasaki is the Zen temple that originated the modern daruma doll tradition, and visiting it transforms the object from a trinket into something with genuine depth.
The temple sits on a forested hillside about 20 minutes from central Takasaki by the Joshin Dentetsu railway line (get off at Shakunage Station). The grounds are open and free to walk; the main temple buildings look down over the Karamone valley, and the sweeping views on clear days extend to the mountains surrounding Gunma’s basin.
The daruma tradition here is rooted in a specific Zen concept: that sustained, focused intention — held through the length of a project or aspiration — is itself a form of spiritual practice. A daruma doll is purchased with both eyes blank. The buyer paints in one eye while making a wish or stating a goal, then keeps the doll visible as a daily reminder of that intention. When the goal is achieved, the second eye is painted in, and the doll is returned to the temple to be ceremonially burned in the Daruma Kuyo fire ceremony held in January each year. The temple grounds are filled with rows of dolls in all sizes, from palm-sized to over a metre tall, covering every surface available.
Visiting Shorinzan Darumaji
Access: Joshin Dentetsu railway from Takasaki Station to Shakunage Station (approximately 20 minutes), then a short walk to the temple entrance. Entry: Free to the temple grounds. Hours: Grounds accessible daily from early morning. The temple shop sells daruma dolls of all sizes; staff can explain the tradition in basic English.
Kusatsu’s Healing Waters — Onsen as Spiritual Cleansing
Kusatsu Onsen (草津温泉) is one of Japan’s most famous hot spring towns, and its water has a genuinely unusual character. With a pH of approximately 2.1, the water is among the most acidic of any onsen in Japan — strongly antibacterial, intensely sulfuric, and immediately noticeable on the skin. A local saying that has been associated with Kusatsu for centuries translates roughly as “these waters cure all ailments except heartbreak” (koi no yamai hoka wa naosu yu). The saying has always been half-comic, but it captures something real about the relationship between the waters and human restoration.
At the center of the town is the Yubatake (湯畑, literally “hot water field”) — a wide open area where the spring water rises from the ground through seven wooden channels and flows into cooling tanks before being distributed to the baths. The Yubatake is the visual and spiritual heart of Kusatsu. Standing at its edge — surrounded by the yellow mineral deposits, the steam rising in columns, and the smell of sulfur in the air — it is easy to understand why the spring itself has always been treated as a sacred source.
For visitors interested in experiencing the water as more than a bath, the Otakinoyu bathhouse offers the jikan-yu ceremony — a ritualized form of bathing developed in the Edo period where bathers enter extremely hot water (often above 47°C) together for a timed period and cool the bath by agitating the surface with long wooden paddles in unison. The ceremony has a clear communal and rhythmic quality that distinguishes it from ordinary bathing. Entry to Otakinoyu is ¥600; jikan-yu sessions run at scheduled times.
Visiting Kusatsu Onsen
Access: JR Agatsuma Line to Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station (approximately 2h30m from Tokyo Ueno, or 80 minutes from Takasaki), then bus to Kusatsu (approximately 35 minutes). By car, approximately 2.5 hours from central Tokyo via Route 17 and the Kan-Etsu Expressway. The Yubatake and outdoor viewing area are free and open at all hours.
How to Visit Power Spots Respectfully
The sites in this guide span Shinto shrines, a Zen Buddhist temple, and a natural hot spring. Each has its own etiquette, but a few principles apply broadly.
At Shinto shrines, the standard form of address at the main hall is two deep bows, two claps (bringing the hands together once and then clapping twice in quick succession), followed by a moment of silent intention, and then one final bow. This sequence is not elaborate, but it is meant to be performed with full attention rather than as a formality. The approach path to any shrine — particularly at Haruna and Akagi, where the paths are long and surrounded by ancient trees — is part of the ritual. Walking in silence and putting the phone away for the duration of the approach changes the quality of the experience significantly.
At Darumaji, the grounds are a Zen temple environment. Speak quietly, move at a considered pace, and if purchasing a daruma, take a moment before painting the first eye to hold your intention clearly in mind. The doll will sit with you for potentially months or years; what you bring to the moment of its activation matters.
At Kusatsu, the water itself is the point. Spend time at the Yubatake simply observing before heading to the baths. The scale of the spring — the volume of water it produces continuously, the heat visible in the steam, the depth of colour in the mineral deposits — is worth absorbing before you immerse yourself in it.
Practical Tips
Combining Sites in One Day
All five sites in this guide are accessible from the Gunma basin, and a full circuit by car is possible in a single day — though ambitious. A more comfortable approach is to pair two or three sites. Haruna + Ikaho form a natural pairing: both are in the western Gunma mountains and can be covered in a half-day, with time for a soak in Ikaho’s baths afterward. Akagi works as a standalone morning excursion from Maebashi. Kusatsu + Shorinzan Darumaji pair less geographically but work as a Takasaki base day if you drive to Kusatsu in the morning and stop at the temple on the way back. Renting a car from Takasaki Station gives the most flexibility; car rental offices are located near the east exit.
Best Seasons for Spiritual Atmosphere
All five locations are worth visiting year-round, but certain conditions heighten the atmosphere considerably. For Haruna and Akagi, dawn visits in October combine early-morning mist with peak autumn foliage. Kusatsu’s Yubatake is particularly striking in winter — the steam columns against snow and cold air, and the contrast between outdoor cold and the bathwater, are difficult to replicate at any other time of year. Shorinzan Darumaji is most active in January (the Daruma Kuyo fire ceremony draws thousands) and at New Year, when visitors fill the temple grounds to purchase new dolls for the coming year.
Spring (late March to April) brings cherry blossoms to the lower approaches of both Haruna and the Ikaho stone steps, adding a softer visual layer to both sites at a relatively uncrowded time of year.