If you are taking a trip down the south coast of Hokkaido you can enjoy some stunning views from the coastal road. Along the long route 235 you will pass through many small towns. Each town is home to at least one or two shrines. About seven minutes past the quaint town of Shizunzi, you can see find Odaka Shrine. The shrine has no parking but there is a small side street past the small shrine if need be so you can park, get out and stretch your legs. The shrine is up in the hills and looks down over the Pacific Ocean.

This small shrine has a grass path that leads to its base. It can get overgrown and offers a wild look to the place. The cool thing about Odaka Shrine is that to get to the shrine itself, you need to pass under three ‘torii’. Torii being the gates placed at the front of a shrine. These gates are usually painted red if they are painted at all. Once at the top of the grass path, you can get some nice views over the ocean. Behind the shrine itself is a steep mountain cliff. This is a nice little spot to visit.