Clear water springs forth from the grounds of Otaki-jinja Shrine and makes a brisk sound when it falls from the mouth of a water channel made by hollowing out a log.
The ample spring produces as much as 22,000 tons of water per day, which maintains a constant temperature of around 12°C throughout the year. The water is used to irrigate the paddies and to raise rainbow trout, and has supported the lifestyles of local residents since ancient times.
The origins of the shrine go back to the latter half of the 3rd century during the Kofun Period (ca. 300–600), when Emperor Sujin is said to have lauded the spring water on occasion of his shrine visits and held a ritual after personally setting up an altar.
In 1985, it was selected among the Ministry of Environment’s “Selected 100 Exquisite and Well-Conserved Waters” along with Sanbuichi Spring and Metori Spring as the “Yatsugatake Nanroku Springs.”
The environs of the shrine have been developed as a park, where fresh green leaves abound in spring and colored leaves in autumn.