Syonan Jinja was a former Shinto

Shinto

or Shintoism, also kami-no-michi, is the indigenous spirituality of Japan and the Japanese people. It is a set of practices, to be carried out diligently, to establish a connection between present day Japan and its ancient past. Shinto practices were first recorded and codified in the written...

 shrine in the middle of the MacRitchie Reservoir

MacRitchie Reservoir

MacRitchie Reservoir is Singapore's oldest reservoir. The reservoir was completed in 1868 by impounding water from an earth embankment, and was then known as the Impounding Reservoir or Thomson Reservoir....

 forest in Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

. It was built by the Japanese Imperial Army during the Japanese Occupation of Singapore

Japanese Occupation of Singapore

The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...

 in World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. When the British forces re-occupied Singapore, the Shrine was destroyed. However, ruins of the shrine remain and serve as a quaint piece of History accessible only to those willing to look for it, given its obscure location. The National Heritage Board

National Heritage Board (Singapore)

The National Heritage Board is a statutory board of the Singapore Government, under the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts ....

 declared the site a Historic Site in 2002, although no plans have been made public to develop or to protect the site.

Meaning of the words

• Syonan - 昭南島 Shōnan-tō, "Light of the South Island" in Japanese
  Japanese Occupation of Singapore
  The Japanese occupation of Singapore in World War II occurred between about 1942 and 1945 after the fall of Singapore on 15 February 1942. Military forces of the Empire of Japan occupied Singapore after defeating the combined Australian, British, Indian and Malayan garrison in the Battle of Singapore...
  
  
• Jinja - A shinto shrine