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Recently, a number of well-preserved places in Japan had been tagged as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. One of them is the controversial Okinoshima Island.

Known as the men only island, the Okinoshima Island has been forbidden to women since the beginning of time. The island is known as a home of sacred shrines, this is why UNESCO considered the place as an "exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island."

The traditions in the island has not really been divulged up to the present but there is a belief about the reason why women are forbidden. In ancient Shinto rituals, menstrual blood is considered impure, and could defile the divinity of the place.

Despite the UNESCO listing, there are no plans on lifting the travel ban on women in the island.

Tags: travel, unesco world heritage site, okinoshima island, shinto rituals, menstrual blood, sacred, divinity