Ise Grand Shrine

What's a year living in Japan without visiting the most sacred Shinto shrine of them all?!

Worthless, according to my colleagues!

Another road trip with Ema and her friends, and I finally made it to Ise Grand Shrine (aka Jingu) earlier this month.  Jingu was established in 4 B.C. (yup, over 2000 years old!) and consists of 125 sacred sanctuaries.  (Even at 10 yen a pop that's a lot of money in order to pray to the Shinto gods!)  Thankfully, we're only going to pray to the 2 main shrines: Geku and Naiku.

We are starting at the Temizusha, where we must rinse our hands and mouth in ritual purification.  I'm an old pro at this process by now. 

Kerri and Sachiyo ready to walk through the first of three torii gates leading to the shrine.

Here's a pic of the same area from New Year's Day I snagged off the internet.  INSANE!! 

Everyone goes to pray for good health for the new year. 

The final torii gate of Gaku, the Outer Shrine.

Jingu is considered to be the spiritual home of all Japanese people, and most make the pilgrimage to Jingu at least once in their lifetime. 

This year they are on target to break the annual attendance record of 8.5 million visitors. 

One of the "lesser" sacred areas of Jingu. 

(I find these type of shrines completely puzzling.)

Kerri and Sachiyo throw their yen, bow, clap, and say their prayers. 

When asked, I told everyone that I prayed for cooler weather.  They just laughed at me and told me I'm supposed to pray for good health or a husband.

Kerri and Ema at lunch time. 

They took me to a famous sashimi (raw fish) restaurant, but I ordered fried shrimp.

Sashimi lunch for the others.

Walking through the steamy streets of Ise.

There was a taiko drum festival going on!

Puffer fish and dried squid for sale as a snack.

We decided to get soybean curd (tofu) flavored ice cream instead. 

Cool... but not exactly tasty!

Kerri and Ema under the traditional Japanese straw roof, which helps keep out the sun and heat.

Walking to the next shrine Naiku, the Inner Shrine.

The thing I like about Shinto shrines is you must stroll through the forest to get to them. 

(Buddhist temples are often tucked into busy shopping areas in the middle of a city.) 

This is a little more peaceful and serene.

Approach to the Naiku shrine.

Beautiful scenery. 

You don't see enough Japanese flags in Japan, especially compared to the national pride that America has!!

After leaving this "power spot" (I read an article about this on my recent Japan Air Lines flight... silly me for originally thinking they were saying "power sport"), we were fueled with energy granted from the Shinto gods and decided to make one more stop on our road trip...

Let's Go Fishing!

Another weekend and another road trip to through Japan's countryside. 

This time our destination was the Toyogawa River for fishing.

Unfortunately, the river is a bit too high right now, and the current is too strong to get in and fish. 

The Toyogawa River is beautiful and said to be the 4th cleanest river in Japan.

When the water levels are normal: you buy fish from the fishing company, they release the fish in a small shallow screened off area, and then you must catch them with your hands so you can eat them.  Can you say "total scam"?  The Japanese like to work way too hard for their food...

They found us an alternate place to release the fish.  It is a giant cement hole sunken in the ground.  It honestly reminded me of some kind of sewer drain... Eeewww!

Mamie, Ema, & Kerri and ready to "catch" some fish.

Kerri is on the prowl, but this was so hard!  The brown cement made it really hard to see anything in the water.

Ema catches the first fish!!

I finally caught one, but only because one of the guys trapped it in a corner for me.

After about 30 minutes, we had caught 3 fish and then someone accidentally knocked over our bucket, thereby making it zero again. 

I was getting totally frustrated because the guys were standing outside the water shouting commands in Japanese and pointing to areas of fish. 

Based on the picture, you can tell I want to punch someone.  The guys either needed to keep their mouths shut or get in the water and help.

Instead they choose to walk back to the fish shop and buy us nets instead.  This was only a slightly easier way to catch fish.  They were still sneaky little suckers.

After 90 minutes, we finally rounded up our 21 fish, and headed back to have them prepared for lunch.

Back at the fish shop.  You can eat outside by kneeling at the low tables with a breeze or inside the stifling hot rooms.

We ordered 4 kinds of fish:

(1) Grilled with miso sauce

(2) Grilled

(3) Raw

(4) Breaded and fried

Our group is ready to enjoy the feast while gazing out over the river!

Here's my finished fish.  One of each.  Nothing to write home about.  I hate having to work so hard for my food.  Avoiding bones, heads, & tails, and peeling off skin is not exactly what I call good times!

Thank goodness I was rewarded with ice cream at the end of the meal. 

Have you ever seen ice cream in a bag?  I think it's way more than just "coolish"--more like super cool!

Kerri and Kishi demonstrate how to properly squeeze it out!

By this time you can see that I have given up on sitting on my knees like a proper lady.  I hate eating outside, especially when it's on a dirty plank of rotting wood with bugs crawling around.  Something had to go, and I decided going without the leg cramps would make me much happier.

Yummy... kind of like a push-pop!

Next stop is Mt. Horaiji, which is 2,243 ft high.

You can see the tiny house-like temple in the distance.

They wanted to climb up this mountain, and in 100 degree weather, I flat-out refused. 

(Why climb any where when there is a perfectly good road leading to the top?)

There were still a few stairs to get to the shrine.

How old do you think this thing is?

Over 1,300 years old, built in 703 to be exact.

Horaiji Shrine

At the Horaiji Temple, the group bought me a gift:

It's a teeny, tiny fan with flowers on it representing June birthdays! 

Since I refused to climb up the mountain, instead we had to climb down.

That's right, 1,425 stone steps in the woods on a 100 degree day.

It was beautiful, but the steps were also uneven and treacherous since they were 1,300 years old!

They told me it would be nice and cool in the woods. 

What a crock!  It was shady, but there was no breeze and the mosquitoes were out with a vengeance. 

We stopped 3 times to put on bug spray, but somehow I still ended up with 8 bug bites. 

(We counted and treated them with medicine while we were naked at the onsen (hot springs) later that afternoon!) 

No one else had any bug bites.  My new friends said "you must have delicious blood".  Hmm... somehow that doesn't make me feel any better!

Ema and Kerri are ready to be at the bottom. 

At the bottom of the mountain is a National Natural Treasure, Kasa Sugi, a giant umbrella cedar tree. 

It is over 800 years old and 200 feet tall. 

Final stop, as I mentioned earlier, was a relaxing hot springs bath at the onsen. 

I needed to rest and wash off all of the sweat from walking down the mountain. 

My legs were killing me for the next few days, especially going down the subway stairs!

After little experiences like this it really reaffirms my decision not to climb Mt. Fuji this summer!

Marine Day holiday

Monday, July 19, 2010 was Marine Day (observed), so Tarynn and I thought it deserved a trip to an island.  Marine Day is the newest public holiday, first celebrated with a day off work on 1996.  The purpose of Marine Day is to show gratitude for the blessings from the oceans and the hope for economic prosperity of maritime Japan since the entire country is made up of 6,852 islands!  Marine activities are vitally important to Japan but critics of this holiday claim it was instituted only because there were no other holidays in June, July, or August for hard working businessmen. 

Either way, I made sure to appreciate the beautiful sea on the 20-minute ferry ride to the sacred island of Miyajima.  Known as "Shrine Island", Miyajima is one of the 3 most scenic places in Japan.  (The Nihon Sankei were selected over 4 centuries ago.)

Miyajima Island is thought to be one of the most enchanting places on earth.  It's 12 square miles, has a sense of serenity & magic, and is known as a diamond in the Sea of Japan.  Because the island is thought to be sacred like a god, it was not inhabited (only worshipped) for many centuries.  People do live on the island now, but no one is allowed to give birth, die, or be buried there.  In fact, there is no hospital or cemetery.

Here is the ferry boat we rode over to the island.  I was surprised to see it also carries automobiles.  I guess I was thinking it would be like Mackinac Island and free from cars.  Also, people walk every in Japan, so why not walk around this island?!

Kerri appreciating the sea!

Getting closer to Miyajima.  You can see Mt. Misen above and the famous vermilion torii gate floating in the water.

The entire ride to the island we passed these floating docks, and I never did figure out what they were for.  I am totally puzzled by their purpose!

The entire island is a National Treasure and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The first thing you see when you get off the boat at Miyajima Island is... DEER!  Wild deer roam around the island and love the tourists.  They let you get right next to them, and you can even pet them.

The deer are thought to be "messengers of god" and have lived on the island for over 6,000 years.  Some deer were eaten during the tough days of WWII, but they are back to being worshipped again. 

Here's a quick up close and personal video of one deer.  (You must go directly to the blog to view it.)

When we first arrived, I was amazed at how tame these deer were!

Here's one with a big rack, and I took this picture especially for my dad!

I wasn't paying close enough attention, and one deer came over and took a bite out of my map of the island.  I literally had to rip it from her mouth.  Here's the irony... check out what she took a bite out of... a warning that deer like to eat paper and cloth!  LOL.  Oops!  Reading is fundamental!

This deer found a pamphlet and was tearing it to shreds and eating it as a snack.  Maybe if Japan had rubbish bins this wouldn't be such as issue!  Also, I read on the internet that in 2007 there was a ban on feeding the deer, and they became completely malnourished and bothersome.  I didn't see any signs (even in Japanese) about not feeding the deer on my visit, but they still liked to beg for food.

Famous torii gate and view of the Sea of Japan.

Otorii, one of Japan's largest torii gates.  This gate was originally erected around 900 A.D., but it has been replaced 8 times.  This latest version is from 1875.  It is over 50 ft tall and the two largest pillars are each 32 feet in circumference!  The coolest thing about the Otorii is that it is free-standing.  No part of it is in the ground!  There are rocks in the roof which weigh it down and keeps it standing upright!

This is one of the most recognizable icons of Japan, and we were very fortunate that it was under water.  I hear it's not quite as magnificent when it's sitting in a mud pit.

Itsukushima Shrine which is built on tidal land and appears to be floating during high tide.  (See what I mean about the mud pit?!  It's not quite as beautiful...)  This shrine was built in 593 A.D. and has a walkway of over 900 feet long.  There are no metal nails in this structure, instead it was built with precise inter-locking crevices in the wood to alleviate the pressure during high tide.  In addition, some planks are 5 ft wide and 33 ft long.  Imagine transporting those huge pieces of wood to the island over 1,000 years ago!!

This shrine sits directly behind the Otorii and is dedicated to the 3 goddesses of the sea.

As with all shrines, a fierce looking animal guards it from evil!

From the walkways of the shrine, you can see the 5-story pagoda built in 1407.

A group of boaters go out for a closer look at the Otorii.  Some people even walk out there to get a better idea of it's magnitude.  But those people were just trying to ruin my pictures!!

There's more of the beautiful island to come tomorrow :)