Dazaifu Tenmangu

Sugawara no Michizane was a scholar and official exiled from the capital to Dazaifu, where he died in 903; a series of disasters in Kyoto afterwards was read as his spirit's doing, and he was enshrined as Tenjin, the deity of learning. The shrine stands over his grave, and its business now is examinations - hundreds of thousands of wooden plaques are hung here each year by students asking to pass, and the approach is lined with shops selling umegae-mochi, a grilled rice cake with red bean. Six thousand plum trees fill the grounds, Michizane's tree by association, flowering in late February; one beside the main hall is called the flying plum, said to have followed him from Kyoto. The main hall is under a multi-year restoration, during which a temporary shrine designed with a roof of living plants stands in front of it.

What you actually see

• A scholar's grave - the shrine built over Michizane, enshrined as the deity of learning.
• Exam plaques - hundreds of thousands hung each year by students.
• Six thousand plums - flowering in late February, including the flying plum.
• A temporary shrine - a plant-roofed structure standing during the main hall restoration.

When to go

Late February for plum blossom. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The main hall is under restoration and covered - check current status before planning around it. Exam season in winter brings very large crowds. The approach street is heavily commercial. The Kyushu National Museum next door is a separate long visit.

Nearby

The Kyushu National Museum is behind the shrine; Fukuoka is north-west.