Ise and Toba - Mie Prefecture (伊勢と鳥羽ー三重県)

As my time here decreases, I am filling my weekends with plans to go to places I really want to go. Yesterday, I went to Ise with some friends. This was a very important trip because, in Ise, is Ise Jingu, practically the most important shrine in Japan for it houses Amaterasu and one of the three imperial armaments. Amaterasu is the main deity of Shinto as well as an ancestor to the emperor, explaining why the emperor often visits the shrine, performs rituals there, and is pretty much the only one allowed to actually enter it. The shrine also houses the sacred mirror of Amaterasu's, being one of the three divine and imperial items given to Japan and its royalty (the other two being a sword and a magic jewel in a claw/teardrop shape (charms of which were sold at the shrine)).

On my way to our meeting point, I took Hankyu and was able to sneak a peek at that bird's nest I saw
a couple of weeks ago. The babies have gotten bigger (though there seemed to be only two now). They are even grumpier-looking than before but cuter and fluffier. Some of their nest has disappeared as well. I've seen other nests and babies in train stations, shops, and houses as well. It seems that late May, early June is swallow season as well as hydrangea season.

We were able to take one railway (Hanshin) the whole way....the whole three hours. Unfortunately, what Google Maps didn't explain was that a part of the way had to be paid separately. So, we scanned in at Station A with our train cards and, without scanning out, had to buy separate tickets at one point, and then once we reached our final destination, turned in the separate ticket and scanned our card again. Somehow, the system accounted for that separate purchase, so we didn't spend more on travel than Google Maps said - just in a different way.

The train ride was fascinating because we got to see a lot of the "countryside." We rode in a double-decker train (yes! We rode on the second level of a train! It was amazing!) and rolled through Colorado-like forested mountains with curvy rivers alongside the rails, passing by mountain-enclosed towns every now and then that had old-fashioned architecture and few people, as well as lots and lots of rice fields (tanbo) and even terraced rice fields.

Once we got to the Spiritual City of Ise, we were met with stone lantern adorned streets and lots of greenery. On our way to find food, we walked through a shrine complex that was basically a mini forest full of beautiful trees, enclosing a path with a tall ceiling and having the atmosphere of a forest god's domain. It was beautiful.

Then, when we exited and saw a lone two-story building standing by itself by the road, with no other

buildings immediately next to it, and wide spaces with forested mountains in the back-ground, we realized we had found our lunch. At this little restaurant called "Tsukiyomi Cafeteria" or "Tsukiyomi Eating Hall" we all tried Ise's famous Ise Udon. It is thicker, softer, and sweeter than regular udon. Udon is usually slightly sticky with a chewy texture. But this was soft and easily came apart in the mouth. It was delicious! (Also, interesting to note, on the small TV in the eatery, first they played Japanese dramas, and then a Japanese TV show which featured the Piano Guys and I was excited to recognize them).


Finally, we started making our way to Ise Jingu. Along the way, we saw a bridge (that we will come back to later), a current of people (though not too crowded), and more tall, beautiful trees. Every time we crossed through a torii gate, we had to bow. These torii gates all had branches and paper tied to them and they were tall and plain wood. Not painted red or adorned with black accents. Just pure wood. This is a preview of the famous Ise Jingu shrine, which is pretty much completely wood and reeds, and built without nails or glue.

Flowing through the shrine area is Isuzu river, so strongly associated with the shrine that it seems to have a particularly strong spiritual energy to it and powers of purity. We all washed our hands again in the river and, honestly, the energy felt different than in other rivers I've encountered (though there have been unique ones before). It was really neat. One could also see coins glittering through the clear water.


Getting to the main shrine, we passed by a temple that denied access inside, but had a beautiful and ornate exterior. The roof was of a style I had not seen before and was especially fascinating.
At one point, we saw a shrine maiden (miko) and shrine priest (kannushi or shinshoku) walking along the external walkways.

And then, we came across extremely tall and thick trees and some serious steps, leading to the Ise Jingu Grade Shrine. Unfortunately, pictures were forbidden past the gate, but the entrance was pretty magical as well. Even though we could enter and pray, we could not enter very far or see the entirety of the Grand Shrine's structure. It's that important.


My friends and I were just loving the forest aspect of the shrines in Ise, especially the Grand Shrine area.

We also saw the following in the area:


Other structures and shrines.


A super tall tree with a huge base.












The back side of the Grand Shrine's enclosure.

Then we returned to the beautiful bridge, crossing the Isuzu River. I believe Google Maps had us enter the back way again since I feel like crossing the bridge is supposed to be the first thing one does

 as to signify crossing a boundary from reality and the mundane into the spiritual domain of Amaterasu, but our lengthier way had more forestry, a high school track race, butterflies, and pretty spiders.

Next, we explored this touristy street full of old (extremely old) style buildings and shops, eventually making our way to buy akafuku mochi at a famous shop (mochi made with red bean paste surrounding it). Though it was a long way home, we were not quite ready. We decided to see the coast and check out a shrine on Google Maps.


 We made our way to the train, walking through a quiet, suburban, librarian-friendly-town-feeling area and then by train for two stops to Toba, a city in Ise right by the sea and had a beach town feel to it without any real beaches. Some of us had a delicious ice-cream/melon-soda float while walking. There were statues involving pearls and a sign for poet's houses and a mystery author's museum. There were many hotels and not many people.

Seeing and smelling the ocean was such a nice feeling. I love the ocean so much. We also got to see herons, egrets, anhingas, and a pair of black eared kites. These hawk-like birds of prey accompanied us along the entire bay, living their lives, swooping and soaring and proudly crying out.

Walking along the bay, enjoying the breeze and the birds, seeing various trees, and so on was amazing but once we arrived to the entrance of the shrine/side stairs to a resort, we found a small shed with a tori gate and a hand washing station composed of a rock with a dent in it and an actual faucet. We were all shocked since it had come up on Google Maps along with many other, bigger shrines and that is was dedicated to Hachiman (a deity we thought was very important to Japanese culture). The panda (one of my friends) reminded me that this similar thing happened when we went to Kobe - hiking in the mountains to see a shrine and temple and finding simply a memorial rock. In both cases, the journey was more important and valuable.

We made our long way home, conversing and playing word games. We separated once we reached Osaka station - they went out to eat and I went home because A. I had food waiting for me and B. I was having some pretty bad stomach pains that I knew would go away if I lied down. The next hour and a half alone on
the train and in pain was not fun, but I made it and some people were very nice in helping me finding my platform or helping me figure out if I had to change trains. My friends were also very helpful and understanding throughout the day, helping me with my stress levels. I truly appreciate them.







Fast forward to today. I slept in, helped my host dad paint the porch, hung out with a friend, and enjoyed yakiniku and akafuku mochi with my host family. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that the red bean paste was surrounding the mochi and so stored the box vertically in my bag. This made the heavy yet soft sweet compress and made three of the four rows compress and become a lot smaller, even squeezing out some liquid. I felt so stupid, but my host parents were so understanding and emphasized "how were you supposed to know." Either way, it was pretty delicious, as was yakiniku.

 The trip to Ise was a lot of fun and turned out to be much more relaxing than we thought. It had a rural feel compared to the cities we've been to so far. There was also a much more forest-y feeling in many areas and, in others, quiet spaciousness.







Some random notes before I head to bed to get some rest for school.

• On our way out at one point, we saw a tiny red shrine and red torii gate standing boldly atop a gray, slightly shabby building (probably apartment complex), throwing a splash of bright color and an ancient feel to a section of urban gray and buildings. 
• $1 donuts from convenience store are really good.
• Limited Express on Hanshin pretty much means paying for a separate ticket and not with your IC Card.
• The yogurt candies from the anime Dagashi Kashi are fruity/yogurt-y, delicious, and super cheap at convenience stores.
• Round-trip flights to Korea are pretty darn cheap.
• The moon shone bright today - very pretty. It was the brightest and most visible moon I've seen so far in Japan.
• Google Maps is stupid yet helpful - you know it will make mistakes or be frustrating, but it also contributes to you getting to where you need to go
• We saw an adorable cat on the coast in Toba that I really wanted to take home, but, alas, it is impossible. 

Good night and good day!