The most visited shrine in Kyushu, dedicated to the god of learning Tenjin, with a garden of centuries-old plum trees and a museum; free access.
The Dazaifu Tenmangu shrine is the most important of the 12.000 shrines in Japan dedicated to the scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane (845-903), deified as Tenjin, the god of learning, culture and writing. Dazaifu was the city where Michizane died in exile, and the shrine was built over his tomb in the year 905. Today it is the most visited shrine in Kyushu, with more than two million visits a year, mainly by students who come to pray for success in their exams. The shrine courtyard is dominated by a plum tree (tobiume) more than a thousand years old that, according to legend, magically flew from Kyoto to accompany the god; in February and March the blossoming of the precinct's 6.000 plum trees is one of the most beautiful spectacles in Kyushu. The Kyushu National Museum (Kyushu Kokuritsu Hakubutsukan), opened in 2005 300 metres from the shrine, is the fourth national museum of Japan and has an exceptional collection on the cultural exchange between Asia and Japan (admission ~430 ¥). Access to the shrine is free. It is reached from Hakata or Tenjin on the Nishitetsu train in 30 minutes.
