One of Kumamoto's oldest and most important Shinto shrines, founded in the early tenth century and dedicated to Hachiman, the god of war. The current buildings are a postwar reconstruction — the original complex was destroyed in 1945 — but the wooded approach and the broad stone-paved precinct retain a strong sense of age.
Fujisaki Hachimangū is the focus of the Boshita Festival in September, when ornately decorated horses are paraded through central Kumamoto from the shrine to the castle. The festival is one of the great spectacles of Kyushu and worth timing a visit around.