Ise-jingu Shrine & Meoto-iwa

Last week I asked some of the Japanese teachers at work where they'd suggest going for a day trip. Shinobu-sensei suggested Ise and Toba. After discussing with Elspeth, we decided this sounded like a good idea (we're going to save Kanazawa and Takeyama for the fall). We went to Nagoya to get the Kintetsu train to Ise. We splurged on the Kintetsu train and got the limited express so we would get there as quickly as possible. 80 minutes later we got off the train in Ise and got on a bus headed to Naiku, the larger shrine in Ise.




Ise Jingu is one of the oldest shrines in Japan (dating to the 4th century) and it honours Amaterasu Omi-kami, the Sun Goddess. It is a simply made shrine consisting of thatched roofs with high crossbeams. The shrines draw about 6 million people each year. The most sacred buildings are only open to members of the Imperial family. Lowly folk like us have to stand on tiptoe and try to catch a glimpse over the high fences (I just don't understand this...). An interesting fact about Ise Jingu - every 20 years the shrine is rebuilt and the new kami transferred to a new home (the next rebuilding is in 2013). Now when Elspeth and I reached the shrine (which was very simple, and crowded with people) I naturally went to take a photo. I am usually pretty good about seeing signs with pictures of cameras crossed (and I believe there wasn't one) but this man rushed up to me and yelled at me that I couldn't take pictures. Everyone at the shrine was staring at me and I felt like an idiot. Here is the photo I got...it wasn't even a good one..




After thinking about it a bit...it got me wondering. Why can't I take pictures of the shrine? I mean, its not like at the Sistine Chapel where the paint is disappearing or somewhere where the flash will hurt it. I mean, the shrine is rebuilt every 20 years. If they can take it down, move it and then rebuild it, I think it can survive a photo. Or is it because the kami won't like it? But if thats the case, why was I able to buy a postcard? Someone took a picture. I want to know. why???

After the shrine we walked around Oharai-machi, an Edo-style neighbourhood (read: tourist-trap) where we got some Ise udon (so good - udon noodles with a soy-sauce-y sauce and tempura) and bought postcards of the shrine (?!?!?!).



[This little guy was so cute with his curly mop of hair, 'newsies' hat and ice cream]


[An army of cats - Elspeth bought one...it had a fortune shoved up its butt]

[Mom - check out all of the sembei!!)

[Eeeeewww! Laura's enemy = the dreaded konnyaku! But I LOVE the way they are displayed!]

We decided against going to Toba (there's an expensive aquarium and pearl island) and instead hopped on a train to Futami to see meoto-iwa or the Wedded Rocks. It was only a couple stops from Ise and it appeared we were the only ones going to see it at 5pm on a Sunday. When we got off the train, the first thing we saw was this;


Later we learned it was Edo Wonderland, a place that is now on my 'places I MUST see' list. It is an Edo-theme park where you can wander around a castle, see shows put on my samurai and geisha and get this - there are ninja shows. And you can dress up like a ninja and have your picture taken!! It is of course, ridiculously expensive but I must go someday...

We reached the water and walked along the 'beach' or rather the stone steps that led into the water. Elspeth was excited about the water (she's a swimmer) and ran down to touch it, only to be freaked out by the many creepy bugs crawling all over the steps. We stayed away from the edge after that. The beach was lined with ryokans and there were people coming back from a day of surfing, tanning, etc.


The wedded rocks are two rocks who represent the union of Izanagi and Izanami, the mythological creators of Japan. They are joined together by a long straw rope called a shimenawa. The two rocks and rope form a kind of torii, or the gate that are found infront of shinto shrines. Elspeth and I both agree that the pictures exaggerate the rocks' size. But it was nice to see, especially since we got there just as the sun was starting to set.



[I know, I know, I have a serious problem. I just can't resist taking pictures of cute kids here. And there are SO MANY cute kids]

[The shrine was full of frog statues - huge frogs, tiny frogs, frog fountains, etc.]



We headed back to the train station to wait for the train. In Japan, the sun sets for about 10 minutes and then boom, it's night. We sat in the dark of the country train station and tried to kill the mosquitoes that were attacking us and listened to the music coming from Edo Wonderland. The train finally came and I slept during the trip back to Nagoya. At the station we were both starving but almost everything was closed. We found an 'American' taco diner place and ordered taco salads. Surprisingly, they were awesome and we enjoyed our American food surrounded by pictures of Marilyn Monroe and the Beatles, while listening to 50's music that we'd never heard before. Good way to end a very interesting day.