Table of Contents
Have travelled west from Keihan, we have come some way, but we have not yet crossed a regional border yet, placing us at the easternmost reaches of...
Within Kansai, we are now inside Mie-Ken (三重県 "Thrice Important Prefecture"), which consists of the Shima-Hantou (志摩半島 "Polished Resolve Peninsula"), along with an equal amount of coastline to both the north and the south, its eastern border defined by the Ise bay and the Pacific ocean.
And within Mie-Ken, we are once again quite far to the east already, in the city of Ise (伊勢 "That One Energy"). From here, it is only about 22km to the easternmost point of mainland Kansai at Yorizaki (鎧埼 "Armor Cape"). Meanwhile, the city of Ise is home to a little over 120,000 people, making it a little smaller than the German city of Würzburg, where my uncle lives and where I spent half a year doing an internship for university back in 2011/2012.
The city of Ise occupies the triangle of flat land between the forested hills, the bay, and Miyagawa (宮川 "Shrine River"), with the heart of the city being located notably towards the southwest. That's where most of the train stations are, and consequentially this is also where I looked for and found a place for us to stay.
...which I suppose is as good a point as any to start talking about...
The Place
For our stay in Ise, I picked a nice little Airbnb. I figured this would contrast nicely with our stay in the Ryokan, giving everyone a taste of how real Japanese homes look like, and also be easier on our travel budget - after all, Bea and Brett asked me to be a little bit budget-conscious about the places I book, which incidentally fits my own preferences just fine. Now, when booking Airbnb places in Japan, it really helps to be able to speak Japanese since most hosts are not exactly fluent English speakers, but with me along that's not a problem. And so, here we are, at a little city house like any other. One typical Japanese living experience, coming right up!
A typical Japanese living experience, that naturally means living pretty space-conscious. As such, our accommodations are genuinely small. Robert and I share a tatami-mat room, where we sleep on futons that just barely fit the room...
Meanwhile, Bea and Brett get the bedroom next door. And with bedroom, I mean an actual room with beds. And with next door I mean it's effectively the same room since the wall panel separating the rooms has been removed and the "normal" entrance door for the room blocked-off. That somewhat limits privacy, but since I know that Bea used to be a backpacker just like me (in fact, her trip to Australia was what inspired me to go to New Zealand and by extension Japan in the first place), I figure that'll be alright.
Our host is a nice elderly woman by the name of Masako who is renting the upstairs place out while she's living downstairs. The check in is a bit interesting as she requires all of us to take our temperatures, but then again, with the Green Shnolz not so far in the past, who can blame her? She has also prepared a hand-drawn map of the neighborhood with all places of interest pointed out. Unfortunately, it's all in Japanese.
Within our room, there's also a table that I at first use as my laptop-friendly workspace...
...though I should soon move over to the library room next door in order to not bother the others too much as I go about planning our trip and documenting the shrines that I visited early in the mornings and late at night when the others are already/still asleep.
There's also a narrow toilet with no space for a proper sink. Instead, there's an outdoors sink on the roofed balcony past the library, which is interesting. With temperatures as hot as right here, right now, that sure works. Also, opaque plastic walls provide a modicum of privacy. Incidentally, this is also the spot where to hang the laundry, but we'll get to that later.
Connecting all the rooms in the upstairs is a narrow hallway, less than a meter wide. At the very end, there's the library, with our room(s) being to the left before that. Before that, there's a tiny kitchen alcove, then the toilet, and then another guest room that is presently empty.
Within that corridor, there's what I assume to be a Hotei-shaped piggy bank. Now, regardless of what it actually is, Hotei should soon become the mascot of our trip. One of the Shichifukujin (七福神 "Seven Gods of Fortune"), Hotei is associated with being jolly, carefree, easygoing, and enjoying life to the fullest, which immediately prompts Bea to nickname him the "God of Yolo".
Moving on to aforementioned kitchen alcove, that one is also really cute, featuring a single induction plate, a microwave and a mini-oven (that last one is a real rarity in Japan). It also opens up to the outside stairwell, which should be our primary means of coming and going.
And the outside stairwell features a cute little lucky Tanuki statue, complete with a little clover to welcome us home whenever we return. Very nice.
So much for the place. Now, on the day of our arrival, Robert, Bea and Brett are itching to go out again right away, while I still need some time to write down the Shrines that I visited along our trip from Nara. So they head out without me, giving me time to wrap up my things. We make plans to meet up in front of the station later, and so it happens that once I finished getting back on top of things, I leave alone for a...
Little Late Lap
13-Sep-2023 Distance: 3.6kmAscents: 10m
Duration: 1.5h
10⛩ (4🦊); 1卍
This should be a fairly short stray. Basically, I just go north a little, to hit the closest Inari shrine, then scout out the nearby supermarket to the west, before heading east towards the station, visiting more shrines and a temple along the way. Finally, arriving at the station area a little bit too early, I decide to walk once around the station block, which is actually quite an interesting construct: The stations for the JR and the Kintetsu railway are close, but not exactly next to one another, with a fan of stabling sidings in between. Also, the Kintetsu tracks proceed to move upwards onto an elevated embankment, crossing south into the hills over the JR tracks which run east and closer to the coast.
Literally the first thing that I come across upon leaving the house is the artistic manhole cover of Ise, depicting what I figure most be pilgrims making the journey to... but we'll get to that later.
It's now 17:30, and while that's not exactly late, it still means that I don't have a lot of daylight left. In fact, since we're close to the autumn equinox and Japan doesn't subscribe to daylight saving time, it means right now is already the time for sunset. Better make good use of what little daylight I have left. On the plus side, that also means it's slowly getting at least a little cooler, and I am in virtually no danger whatsoever of sunburn.
Just a little bit to the north, I run into the entrance of the Takayanagi Shoutengai (高柳商店街 "Tall Willow Shopping Arcade"), which prominently features the triforce-like triangle pattern that in Japan typically represents Benzaiten, goddess of music, water, knowledge and everything that flows, and another of the Shichifukujin. Right next to the entrance, there's also a red flag advertising a Karaoke place.
I am right now at the very western end of the arcade. Interestingly, there's a shrine directly adjunct, and it bears the very contemporary name Ima-no-Yashiro (今社 "Shrine of the Now"). It also features an architectural element that I should encounter a few more times here in Ise: A wall blocking the sight of the shrine from outside the gate, which I figure is to give the people praying at the shrine a little privacy.
Much to my delight, that shrine also features a little Inari side shrine with a quartet of foxes in attendance. This little shrine goes by the name of Kiyogawa Inari Daimyoujin (清川稲荷大明神 "Pure River Inari Great Radiant Deity").
After that, I take a quick peek to the west, scouting out the nearby supermarket, and taking note of the roofed sidewalks as I do. I suppose that means it can get quite rainy here at times.
Following that, I turn around to walk the Takayanagi Shoutengai, which on the website of Ise is advertised to look like this:
I figure that this image was most likely taken before the Green Shnolz struck, because as I walk through it, I witness it being more like this:
...which is not necessary a bad thing since I don't like crowded spaces anyway. Also, it makes the cute and interesting details on the walls stand out all the more. The text below the frog reads "Sing. Dance. Feel good!!"
And since this is Japan, there's of course also a mecha to be found standing in the middle of the mall. Interestingly, the text below the clock to its right reads "Keep it up Japan! Keep it up Touhoku!", with Touhoku being the northernmost region of Honshu (see Book II ~ Chapter 9 ~ Amicable Appi-Kogen), and as thus over 350km away. I wonder what's the connection there.
Moving on from there, I come across a few more shrines and temples, including another Inari shrine with foxes and a Mizuko (水子 "Water Child" = "Aborted or stillborn child") Jizou where mothers offer up prayers for the souls of aborted or stillborn children. Those are always pretty obvious since they feature a myriad of small Jizou statues.
As it starts getting darker, I come across a 5 acre big patch of forest in the middle of the city, at the sole entrance of which stands a Torii, thus marking it as a shrine: Tsukiyominomiya (月夜見宮 "Moon Night View Shrine"). Inside, it features a number of really old-style wooden shrines, which actually remind me a bit of the shrines that I saw back in Hokkaido (see Book II ~ Chapter 6 ~ A Hokkaido Homerun). Much to my delight there's also an Inari Shrine here, though honestly, "Shrine" might be stretching it a bit thin here, since this is only a bunch of foxes sitting under an old tree behind a Torii in the darkening forest.
Moving further into the downtown area from there, I come across this crazy bar...
...and then I stray a little bit around the station, also scouting out potential dining places as night falls.
Having met up with Robert, Bea and Brett in front of the station, we debate where we want to go to eat. Our first Yolo attempt in a sake-bar ends with us promptly leaving upon being presented with a rule sheet. Instead, we end up eating at the Sato Famires, which is a dining experience that I can personally recommend. "Famires" is short for "Family Restaurant", which is a type of food chain typical in Japan that focus on family friendly eating experience, and "Sato" is simply the name of this particular chain.
The interior is pretty and welcoming, and also quite western-style, which is another thing that's typical for Famires.
Now as for the "experience" part, that starts with the tablets that we can use to order food, and which also feature an English version, much to the relief of my companions.
Despite that, however, I still have to ask the waitress which drink menu I have to order, since that is not entirely clear to me. Generally, the way it works in Famires is that you pay a flat rate for access to the drinks bar and can then get as much as you want from there. The thing that confuses me is that there are two flat rates, and the difference between those is not clear to me. As it turns out, the cheaper one is for people who also order food, while the more expensive option is for people who are only here to get drinks. Interesting, but it works out in my favor. As for what I am getting, that's one my favorite Japanese soft drink: Melon Soda! Also, tea is complimentary for all guests.
Food-wise, each of us finds some authentic Japanese dish to enjoy. Clockwise from top left we have Oyakodon (親子丼 "Parent Child Bowl" = Chicken and Egg Rice Bowl) for Brett, Tendon (天丼 "Heaven Bowl" = Tenpura Rice Bowl) for Bea, Aki Kaiseki (秋懐石 "Autumn Feeling Stone" = Mixed meal of autumn seasonal specialties) for me, and Tenpura Soba for Robert.
And to finish it of, I have some Taiyaki (鯛焼 "Baked Sea Bream"), which is something that I think I missed during my last time in Japan. Contrary to what the name suggests, it's not actual fish, but rather a fish-shaped pancake filled with sweet bean jam, and it's quite tasty!
After that, there's nothing left to do but to head back home through the dark streets. Tomorrow, we have a big day ahead of us. It is the day that we do what we came to Ise for in the first place! Tomorrow is our...
Grand Shrine Stray Day
14-Sep-2023
And now for the reason why we are in Ise in the first place. You see, Ise is the location of the eponymous Ise Jingu (伊勢神宮 "That One Energy Divine Shrine"), one of the holiest places of Shinto faith, comparable in importance with Mecca for the Islam. Back in the Edo period, every able-bodied follower of Shinto would aspire to visit Ise Jingu at least once in their lifetime, even if that included a harrowing pilgrimage from the other end of the country. Today, getting here is easier, and yet the importance of this place has not diminished. And since I consider myself Shinto as well, it is only natural that I would seek this place out upon finally learning of it.
Now you might be imagining Ise Jingu as a particularly grand or majestic shrine, but it is already at the first word that this notion is wrong. Ise Jingu is not "a" shrine, it is *several* shrines spread throughout the city, and as a matter of fact, I have unwittingly actually already visited one of them just yesterday: Tsukiyominomiya. Today's stray should take us to the two biggest and by extension most important shrines of Ise Jingu: Toyo'Uke Daijingu (豊受大神宮 "Bountiful Catch Great Divine Shrine") - which is also known as Geku (外宮 "Outer Shrine") and actually located quite close to both our place and the station - and then Koutai Jingu (皇大神宮 "Imperial Great Divine Shrine") - which is also known as Naiku (内宮 "Inner Shrine"), and is located a few kilometers away.
Anyway, today features our stray from our stay place to first the Geku, and then the Naiku, and then a little bit past that still. And since that's a bit much all at once, let me divide the entirety of that into three parts, the first covering our stray...
From Geku to Naiku
Distance: 9.5kmAscents: 155m
Duration: 4.5h
28⛩ (8🦊); 2卍; 2/2🎁︎
Our route takes us from the Airbnb almost straight to the Geku, which we then subsequently explore. After that, we head east past the Ujiyamada (宇治山田 "Eaves Cure Mountain Field") station, then southeast for a bit, and finally south all the way to the Naiku.
Wanting to dodge as much of the day's heat as possible, we set out at 7:30 in the morning, "we" being only Robert and myself, with Bea and Brett preferring not to take an extended hike in these temperatures. As such, we agreed the night before to meet them in front of the Naiku at noon, and are now on our way.
Our first stop along the way is a temple that we came across on our way to the Airbnb, but did not go in because we were all carrying our luggage. This one is called Joushouji (常照寺 "Ordinary Shine Temple"), and it is one of relatively few temples around here. Typically, shrines in Japan outnumber temples at a ratio of roughly 3:1, but temples tend to be bigger on average in turn. Here in Ise, however, not only are there over ten times as many shrines, but with all the big shrines around they also win in the average size category.
The next issue is breakfast. Unlike the Ryokan where we stayed in Nara, our place does not feature breakfast, so we need to fend for ourselves. Fortunately, since this is Japan, there's usually Konbini nearby, such as a FamilyMart in our case.
We pick up some Onigiri for the road. Now, as some of you might recall, I ate really many Onigiri during the beginning of my first stay in Japan (see Book II ~ Chapter 2 ~ Touchdown in Tokyo) and eventually got quite sick of them. However, here's something that I simply have got to try: Onigiri wrapped with Inari-Age - sweet fried tofu that is said to be the favorite snack of foxes - so naturally I have to give it a try. Turns out that I still don't like Onigiri, but the Inari-Age mitigates that a bit. I wonder if those are called Inarigiri or something like that.
Shortly thereafter, we reach the entrance to the Geku, which to the uneducated eye might just look like a forest park or something. Only the wooden Torii indicate that there might be something more to this place.
Since we're still pretty early in the day, there's not many people around yet. Instead, we get to behold the unusual sight of trucks systematically watering the broad gravel paths. I am not entirely sure about the reason, but I think it's part of a cleansing ritual, though seeing it being carried out by trucks that pollute the air with their exhaust fumes makes that somewhat absurd.
The Geku covers an areal that is roughly 20 acres, though since the borders are a bit fuzzy in the surrounding forest, it's hard to tell exactly what still counts as the shrine grounds. Within that, there's one big main shrine, as well as a hill near and on top of which are another four small shrines.
The main shrine is the aforementioned Toyo'Uke Daijingu, which is surrounded by four rings of walls. The public is only admitted to the outermost ring, and even there photography is prohibited, so the best shot I can get is from outside the gate. What is noticeable at all these shrines - apart from the old style that I already mentioned ad Tsukiyominomiya - is the complete absence of paint, leaving behind only natural cedar wood. Also, none of the shrine constructions use nails to keep them together, instead relying exclusively on wooden joints to preserve the purity of the material.
Then there's the other shrines here: Past a little river lie the two shrines Tsuchinomiya (土宮 "Earth Shrine") and Kazenomiya (風宮 "Wind Shrine") - befittingly on opposing ends of the same gravel path - and following a stream a little bit into the woods we come across the tiny Shimo-no-Mi'i Jinja (下御井神社 "Lower Honorable Well Shrine"). Finally, taking the stairs to the top of the hill, there's Takanomiya (多賀宮 "Many Joys Shrine"), which stands next to a really old, big tree, and is also clearly the most popular of the smaller shrines, despite the early hour.
Finally, on our way out of the Geku, we pass the shrine's dedicated Kaguraden (神楽殿 "God's Delight Hall"), which is the ritual stage for sacred dances, such as we beheld back in Nara.
And that's it for the Geku, but not for the shrines, not by a long shot. Because right next to the Geku, and in fact still connected to the same forest, there's Akanesha (茜社 "Red Dye Shrine"), which features a pair of married trees, but would otherwise be unremarkable amongst the onslaught of shrines today...
...if not for Toyokawa Akane Inari Jinja (豊川茜稲荷神社 "Bountiful River Red Die Inari Shrine"), which not only is a branch shrine of Toyokawa Inari - yes, the Toyokawa Inari (see Book II ~ Chapter 21 ~ The Twofold Toyo Thuggery) - but also perfectly upholds the reputation of the Toyokawa Inari name by featuring an absurd amount of foxes. I think Bea and Brett heard my giddy "EEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!" all the way back at the Airbnb. Just short of gold rank, this is definitely a Silver Fox Shrine.
But after that, we finally leave the forested area behind, and start making our way eastwards through the streets of Ise...
...during which we naturally encounter several more shrines, and judging from the style, at least one of those is directly associated with the Ise Jingu again.
Our next waypoint is Ujiyamada station, where I manage to find my first Geocache in Ise. As it turns out, I should yet see this particular station a disproportionate amount of more times, but we'll get to that later. Maybe more interesting is the fact that the tracks here already run on the upper floor, embanked on a railway viaduct that stretches across the nearby river and into the hills of the more hilly part of town.
And here's said river, which goes by the name of Setagawa (勢田川 "Energy Field River") and runs from the hills that we're ultimately headed for. However, it is not yet the river along the side of which the Naiku is built - that one is a category above this little stream.
Shortly thereafter, we're encountering our first considerable slope within the city, taking us up from near sea level up to 31.3m, as a Tsunami safety sign at the top informs us. And while that's not a lot per se, the oppressive heat of the day that has started setting in by now sure makes us sweat for every single meter. The hill inside the Geku was a taller climb, actually, but that was in the cool shade of the trees, whereas we're pretty exposed to Radian's searing rays out here, hunting for shadow when we can.
At the top of the hill, there awaits a small field of grass that features both an Inari shrine as well as a Jizou.
After that ascent, both Robert and I are feeling quite thirsty. Fortunately, there's always a number of Jidouhanbaiki around, so we have no problem finding something to drink. Incidentally, by now my Japanese is good enough that I can read that the actual fruit content of this fruity-looking drink is only 10%.
Moving on from there, we cross over the Kintetsu line just in time to see a train of the Kintetsu Limited Express pass beneath us.
We follow the hilltop road for a little while...
...but soon enough take a turn onto a curious little foot path weaving down the hillside between the buildings of the Asakichi Ryokan (麻吉旅館 "Lucky Hemp Guest House").
At the bottom of the slope, we cross over the Ise Jidoushado (伊勢自動車道 "Ise Card Road" = "Ise Expressway"), which is definitely the smallest expressway that I've ever seen, and a fantastic contrast to the humongous roads of, say, Canada (see Book V ~ Chapter 2 ~ Trecking Through Toronto).
Also, at the points where the sidewalks cross the roads, there's this precious pavement panda picture that reads "Stop, look left, look right".
Another curiosity in this area is the Aka Budai (赤舞台 "Red Stage"), on the exact purpose of which I am not entirely clear. Basically, it is a stage with a bright red wooden construction on top that makes it reminiscent of a Shinto shrine, yet is still clearly different. It is also located on a wide bridge across aforementioned expressway, so I wonder if it's supposed to be an art installation of sorts. I don't think it's really meant for public events since the space in front of it is only big enough to comfortably fit a few dozen people.
Continuing our path, we come across a Jidouhanbaiki that sells a Demitasse (which is actually German for "Half Cup") of cold coffee...
...which I suppose is still preferable to getting pain from the next place that we pass by. Fortunately, pain is only served starting at 11:00 on Wednesdays, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays, so we're safe since today is a Thursday and it's only 10:30 on top.
By now, we're pretty much making a beeline for the Naiku, which doesn't mean we're quite there. First, we have to make our way down Ushitanizaka (牛谷坂 "Ox Valley Slope"), where a pair of humongous stone lanterns mark the spot where the dreaded Ushi-Oni (牛鬼 "Ox Demon") used to prey on travelers until it was eventually shot dead with a bow by Aisu Shigeaki (愛洲重明 "Favorite Country Heavy Light"), the lord of Gokashojou (五ヶ所城 "Five Places Castle").
At the bottom of the slope, we come across another big shrine. This one is Sarutahiko Jinja (猿田彦神社 "Monkey Field Prince Shrine"), and it is notable that it is not only one of the seven Ookami (大神 "Great Deities") of Shinto faith, but also one of the two Kunitsukami (国津神 "Earth Harbor Gods" = "Earthly Deities") - the other one being Inari - as opposed to Amaterasu, Izanagi, Izanami, Michikaeshi and Sashikuni, who are the five Amatsukami (天津神 "Heaven Harbor Gods" = "Heavenly Deities"). Befittingly, this shrine also features a field out back, although there aren't any monkeys there.
This shrine also marks the beginning of the greater Naiku area, and while we're still roughly 1km away from the actual Naiku, the area between here and there is effectively packed with tourism venues, most of which are tailored to a Japanese-speaking audience, such as the Isuzugawa Noasobi Dokoro (五十鈴川野遊びどころ "Fifty Jingle Bells River Field Play Place" = "Izusugawa Picnic Grounds").
Since we've gotten here a bit early, Robert and I take our time strolling up the shore of the great Isuzugawa (五十鈴川 "Fifty Jingle Bells River")...
...before walking down the roads of the shopping district preceding the Naiku.
Finally, just outside of the gates of the Naiku, we kill the final bit of time before noon by exploring the many shrines of the nearby hills...
...one of which curiously features Ema racks where the traditional wooden prayer plaques have been entirely replaced with straw sandals that have a little wooden tag to them.
Also, we come across a vibrantly colored version of the Ise manhole cover in these parts.
And just like that, noon has arrived. Now it is time for us to meet up with Bea and Brett and proceed with the...
Naiku Navigation
Distance: 4.4kmAscents: 60m
Duration: 3.25h
6⛩
Compared to our hike to the Naiku, this segment should be considerably more leisurely, taking us through the grounds of the Naiku as well as the surrounding shopping street, and eventually to the bus station near the aforementioned Isuzugawa Picnic Grounds.
But first things first. After we reunite with Bea and Brett, we unanimously opt to kill two birds with one stone by going to a nearby restaurant first, thus getting tasty lunch while also evading Radian's fierce rays at noon. Japan doesn't have daylight saving time, so while 12:00 may not be the hottest time of the day, it is still the time at which you're most likely to get sunburn or sun stroke. Now, in this area we have our literal pick of restaurants, and eventually decide on one called Senokuniya (勢乃國屋 "Country of Power Shop"), which also features a souvenir store on the ground floor - predominantly because it's located right next to where we met up with Bea and Brett, but also because the menu standees look quite appetizing to each of us.
True enough, each of us manages to find a delightful meal in here, with me going for the Tekone Zenbu (手こね膳風 "Hand-Rubbed Platter Style"), which features not only one but two regional specialties at the same time: The first is the eponymous Tekone Sushi that is made from bonito and hand-rubbed with salt and soy sauce to enhance the flavor. The second is Ise-Udon, which features a special sauce that has a strong Umami flavor and is absolutely delicious. After the long walk here, this meal feels incredibly rewarding. Also, at only 1650 yen (~10€) it's actually really cheap for both the taste and the location.
After lunch, we head for the gate of the Naiku, which is pretty hard to miss. From here on out there are also a lot more people around, mostly Japanese. The line between worshipers and tourists is probably a bit blurry here, with me having a foot on either side of that line myself.
The Naiku covers an areal measuring roughly 70 acres, and thus over three times the area of the Geku. Again, it is difficult to say exactly where the borders are due the Shrine grounds seamlessly blending in with the surrounding forest, but it's definitely significantly bigger. The main shrine is at the very back, with a total of 5 side shrines spread over the grounds, one even being on the far side of a little side river.
Directly behind the outer Torii, we cross above Isuzugawa by means of the Ujibashi (宇治橋 "Calm Eaves Bridge"), which is traditionally destroyed and rebuilt every 20 years, because that's Shinto custom. In fact, as far as I know that much applies to literally every shrine building, so even though all these buildings might look old and traditional, they are actually pretty recent, yet still faithfully constructed in the old style. Also, like everything related to Ise Jingu, this bridge, too, is built of cypress wood. The wooden pillars jutting out of the water ahead of the bridge, by the way, are in line with the pillars actual pillars and are meant to protect the actual bridge from getting hit by floating debris or trees, which is something that can happen if the weather gets rough. Remember, this is typhoon and earthquake territory.
Once on the other shore, the path turns to the right, parallel to the river and further to the hills, where it leads us through a very spacious garden, which regrettably offers little shelter from the searing sun. Some smart Japanese people have thus wisely brought umbrellas along to enjoy a measure of portable shade.
Fortunately, our surroundings gradually grow more shady as we make out way further into the shrine grounds, and by the time we reach the third Torii - which ironically is named Ichi-no-Torii (一の鳥居 "First Torii"), the path is completely surrounded by trees.
Now, normally shrines have a little water trough in which to wash one's hands and mouth for ritual purposes. However, this shrine one-ups that by substituting the water trough with the freaking Isuzugawa, the pristine waters of which are even home to little fish swiftly swimming by. I suppose this being a sacred river means fishing is prohibited, at least in the vicinity of the shrine.
From there, the path weaves through the sacred forest of the shrine...
...leading us to two side shrines, the first being Takimatsuri-no-Kami (瀧祭神 "Waterfall Festival God"), and the second one - deeper in the woods - being Kazahinimi-no-Miya (風日祈宮 "Wind Day Prayer Shrine").
Standing in the centre of the Naiku, there's the Naiku's Kaguraden, which once again is a pretty impressive building.
Beyond that, there's the inner sanctuary, where photography is once again forbidden, so I can only take a picture from outside. However, as far as I can tell, it is almost identical to the one of the Geku, both featuring four rings of walls, with the public only being admitted to the outermost ring.
In fact, looking at satellite pictures, I can not only see that the Geku and Naiku both have almost - but not quite - the same blueprint, but they are also both aligned in the exact same direction: towards the north. Also, interestingly there's an open space next to the inner sanctuary of both the Geku and the Naiku (shown only for the Naiku here), which is known as the Kodenchi (古殿地 "Old Hall Grounds" = "Previous Sanctuary Site"). I wonder if they alternate the shrine between these two sites every time they rebuild it so the shrine can be active with no downtime.
Moving on through the shrine grounds, we pass by a majestic old tree with a base so wide it encroaches upon the path.
At the end of that path we find the next side-shrine of the Naiku, this one being Aramatsuri-no-Miya (荒祭宮 "Wild Festival Shrine").
And then, there's also a Koi pond, which harbors Koi in maybe not all, but at least several colors of the rainbow.
The last two side shrines of the Naiku are Ooyamazumi Jinja (大山祇神社 "Great Mountain God Shrine") and Koyasu Jinja (子安神社 "Child Safety Shrine"), which are almost all the way back at the entrance to the Naiku. In fact, these two are where you'll end up with if you go straight after crossing the bridge instead of turning to the right.
After that, we leave the Naiku behind and now make our way back through the shopping street, which by now has become quite busy.
Keeping our eyes open there, we can spot quite a few interesting shops and displays, such as this rack of Shinjushio Saidaa (真珠塩サイダー "Pearl Salt Lemonade"), which has a backstory that rivals the display in terms of curiousness: Apparently, this is a local specialty made by boiling sea water with pearls in them, which ostensibly causes the surface layer of the pearls to dissolve and form pearl salt. This is said to be good for beauty, and thus obviously warrants a price of 300¥ for a bottle of only 250ml. That's almost three times of what that fruit drink from the Jidouhanbaiki cost me. By the way, the signs read "This is a display, product sold inside the store".
Next is a store selling Katana Karaage ("Katana Fried Chicken"), which is basically a normal fried chicken skewer, but with a cardboard katana guard near the bottom. I love it! It's such a simple thing to do, and with very little investment you got yourself a kiddie magnet.
And the curiosities don't stop! Next, there's a shop that features little monkey statues placed seemingly at random on its roof, and in perfectly natural poses too so you have to look twice to make sure they're not actual real monkeys...
...followed by a tofu shop that features a fox on its sign. Remember, Inari-Age - that is, sweet fried tofu - is said to be the favorite snack of foxes.
Eventually, we reach the northern end of the shopping street...
...and from there on proceed back to the central station of Ise by bus. Conveniently, we can use our IC cards just fine in here too, so there's no need to worry too much about tickets or fares. In fact, Bea and Brett already successfully tried that out on the way here.
With that, our visit to Ise Jingu is complete. However, since there's still daylight left, we still have time to do one more thing today. As a result, I have one more story to tell for this day, namely one...
Of Married Rocks
At the station, we consult the tourist info for what would be a good nearby thing to see at this already kinda advanced hour. They suggest a locale a bit outside of the city, but thankfully directly connected by a bus line from the station, so we next find ourselves waiting at one of the several bus stops here, curiously with a little Snoopy & Charlie Brown plushie randomly lying on the bench.
Shortly thereafter, we're on our way out to Meotoiwa Higashiguchi (夫婦岩東口 "Married Rocks East Entrance"), which is a bit further out than we've been on any of our strays thus far has taken us. If we were to walk the shortest route from the central station it would only be a little more than 8km and thus shorter than our stray earlier today, but since we don't have a lot of time to get there before sunset, the bus is the preferable option for now. Curiously, the bus starts out by going to the nearby Ujiyamada station, and then doing a honor lap almost all the way back to the central station before heading off towards the east.
The bus ride takes us past a number of shrines and temples that I sadly won't get the chance to visit, and out into the more rural parts of Ise. Make no mistake, though: There's still a lot more houses here than in true rural areas. The ratio of fields-to-houses is still somewhere around 1-to-1 at best. We also cross over Isuzugawa again, which by this point has grown to over four times the width that it was near the Naiku.
By the time we get off the bus, it's already getting dark, the sun having set behind the high hills already. The bus stop is right outside Ise Sea Paradise, which also bears the name of Kaijuu Oukoku (海獣王 国 "Marine Animal Kingdom", not to be confused with 怪獣王国, which is pronounced exactly the same but translates to "Monster Kingdom", hooray for homophones!).
At this point, I don't know exactly what to expect from the Meoto Iwa, since I don't know anything about them apart from the pictures that were shown to us at the tourist info. From those, however, I already assumed that it would be something shrine-related, and as we walk down the path towards the cape a bright red Torii confirms as much.
In fact, there's several interesting shrines here, the first one being Ryuuguusha (龍宮社 "Dragon Shrine Shrine"), which features a pair of dragon guardians in addition to the Komainu guardians that are standard to many non-Inari shrines. There's also a draconic waterspout to really sell the theme.
As we reach the spit of the cape, we come face to face with the objective of this little last excursion: Meoto Iwa. Consisting of two rocks that are joined by a thick Shimenawa (標縄 "Sign Rope", a rope used to cordon off sacred areas in Shinto), as well as a little Torii on top of the bigger rock, it honestly does not look all that impressive until the setting sun hits it at just the right angle. At low tide, you can actually walk over to the rocks, while at high tide - such as we have now - you get to see them completely surrounded by the waters of the bay. The two married rocks represent the union between the heavenly deities Izanagi and Izanami, meaning that between this, Toyokawa Akane Inari Jinja, Sarutahiko Jinja and the Naiku, I have now covered five of the seven Ookami in one day.
Immediately nearby, there's a pair of very froggy shrines: Hinokami (日の神 "Sun God") - which I assume is built in such a way that you can see the sun rise between the rocks from that point at the time of the summer solstice - and Futami Okitama Jinja (二見興玉神社 "Twin View Pleasure Jewel Shrine"), which features most of the frogs and an array of frog waterspouts.
There's also a jetty jutting out a bit into the sea here. Curiously, this one features a fence which looks to be made of wood at first glance, but an open post reveals that it is actually made from plastic. I suppose that does handle the humidity better.
From the point of the jetty, I am not only able to get a nice panorama shot of the bay, with Meoto Iwa in the distance...
...but I am also able to capture a beautiful sunset over the Ise bay as the sun briefly peeks out in the gap between the clouds and the horizon, thus also bathing Meoto Iwa in aforementioned beautiful sunset light.
As we head back to the bus stop, we notice a pair of giant sea shells from Okinawa on display next to one of the buildings here...
...and going back the way we came, we suddenly find ourselves witnessing a migration of tiny crabs skittering across the path towards the sea.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Oh, and on the way back to the bus station I also note that naturally the Meoto Iwa area also has its own manhole cover design, featuring the rising sun behind the rocks. I couldn't find a colored version of that one, but I'm sure if someone were to spend a bit of time walking around this area they'd be able to find one somewhere.
Since we're not clear on whether the bus that we planned to take back is already the last one for the day, we arrive at the bus stop with some time to spare. Conveniently, there's a little Buddhist site known as Koujizou Daibosatsu (江地蔵大菩薩 "Bay Jizou Great Bodhisattva") literally right next to the bus stop, so we can have a look at that. This little amalgamate of Jizou and Bodhisattva statues curiously also features a number of stone pigeons on one of the low roofs.
The bus actually is a bit late, which makes us somewhat nervous, but eventually it does arrive after all. By now, we're already well into dusk.
As such, there isn't terribly much to see along the way, apart from dark fields, rivers, and the lights of the city. Naturally the route also takes us past the Ujiyamada station for the third time today.
Dark though it may already be, it is actually only 18:45 by now. But even so, we figure this is as good a time as any to go and get something to eat. We stray around for a bit, passing up a Gyoza place that our host recommended due to the fiendishly long waiting list (in some food places in Japan, rather than waiting in line you have to put your name on a waiting list and then get to sit (or stand) around near the store until your name is called). Instead, we find a little ramen store a bit further down the line...
...where each of us orders a tasty bowl of ramen. I for myself go for the Tamago Ramen (卵拉麺 "Egg Crushed Noodles"), which is a personal favorite of mine. Curiously, sometime during our meal - around 19:30 - a while class of students comes in, looking like they just came from school. And in fact, that may very well be the case, since there's a cram school just on the other side of the road, and yes, cram school classes do run this late in Japan. Being a student is tough in this country.
After that, we return home to our Airbnb and make plans for what to do from here on out. Sadly, it turns out we'd end up doing...
Separate Strays
15-Sep-2023
We are now five days into our joint exploration of Japan, and for reasons that are completely beyond me, Bea and Brett are thoroughly fed up with daily kilometer-long strays and visiting dozens of shrines and temples. Also, they are not very amused about how our Airbnb turned out. On top of that, they feel like our time in Kyoto was way too short, and have lingering regrets about not seeing enough stuff there, and that is something I can completely relate to. I mean, I've now been in Kyoto for a total of three weeks now, and even I have barely seen half of what that city has to offer, and nothing of nearby Osaka and the other places around.
So, being the faithful followers of the god of Yolo that they are, they subsequently decide to spontaneously take the Tokkyuu back to Kyoto and wing it from there, planning to meet up with us on our next stop. Logistically, this is not a problem. The Tokkyuu - while a bit more expensive than the local trains - runs from Ise to Kyoto in just over 2 hours, and from there to our next stop they can take the Shinkansen, which - while kinda expensive - is also one of those typical Japan experiences that is nice to have made. The sad part here is that this means they also skip out on the epic and adventurous next leg of the journey that I planned, but that is their decision to make.
Meanwhile, I need to spend some time taking care of mid-journey chores. Not knowing exactly how long that will keep me busy, Robert and I agree to meet up in front of the Ise station later today, which frees him up to do a hike up a hill the name of which consists predominantly of the letter "A", namely Asamayama (朝熊山 "Morning Bear Mountain"), using the nearby station of Asama as his starting point. Interestingly, I did have that one on the list of potential bonus round destinations for what we could do after the Naiku, but seeing how bad I felt about making Brett go up Inariyama already (see Book V ~ Chapter 22 ~ Nara & Nearby), I chose not to bring it up. Another interesting point is that Asamayama is almost directly to the east of the Naiku, and almost directly to the south of Meoto Iwa.
Thus, this is our own little version of the breaking of the fellowship, and as Bea and Brett depart for Kyoto once more and Robert heads for the hills, I stay behind in the Airbnb to make myself...
A Modest Morning
Now, the first of the things I have to take care of is laundry. Having planned to do laundry in the middle of the trip, I wisely made sure to pick an Airbnb that featured that option, and so it is that after four years I get to use a Japanese washing machine again. Our host kindly explains to me how to use this particular model, which is as simple s putting in the laundry, sprinkling a bit of "Toppu" detergent over it, and then pushing the right button.
In the meantime, I go back to my sewing kit and my backpack. I did do makeshift repairs on it back at the Sakurai station, and those lasted me until here, but now I want to make sure I get it really fixed up. As such, I soon start stitching and do not stop until I'm all out of orange thread, and my backpack looks much the better for my efforts.
By the time I finish stitching up my backpack's straps, the washing machine is all done, and I can proceed to hanging up the laundry on aforementioned roofed balcony, which is actually a pretty great place to put it. With the temperatures and the sunlight shining in through the acrylic glass roof, the laundry will be dry in no time, and there's no need to worry about it getting wet from rain. The only problem is that the amount of hangers is a little too low for both Robert's and my laundry, so I have to get a little bit creative to get it all hung up, but I manage.
On top of all that, I also need a little time to update my stray map and the shrine list, and by the time I'm done with it all, it's already noon. That's a morning spent productively, but now it's time to go out and find some shrines, and possibly lunch. Having been to the east of our stay place quite a lot, I determine to set out west this time, which should eventually end up with me...
Ranging the Riverside
Distance: 11.3kmAscents: 60m
Duration: 4.25h
29⛩ (10🦊); 3卍; 0/1🎁︎
This stray should take me generally east... naturally while also allowing me to seek out all nearby Inari shrines in hopes of finding foxes there. As a result, it's just a little bit zig-zaggy. Upon finally reaching the river I eventually come across a nice little place to have lunch at, and then proceed north along the river for a little bit before I start heading west into the city. From there, I go where the shrines take me, which eventually causes me o make a sharp turn towards the north that should prove very rewarding. After that, I head more or less straight for the station, and after not encountering Robert there just yet drop by the nearby Ujiyamada station for the fourth time since coming here before returning back to the central station to wait there for Robert.
For once, I set out at the crack of noon. Radian is once again burning down quite mercilessly, so I make sure to put on plenty of sunscreen.
Since it's about lunchtime, I do keep an eye out for interesting places to grab a bite to eat. This store catches my eye right away, but it turns out it only sells bread and sandwiches, which is not really what I want to eat on a Japan vacation. So I scamper on in search of something more Japanese. The meaning of the name of this place (とげつ堂 Togetsudou) is not wholly clear since the first three syllables are written with hiragana instead of Kanji, but my best guess is that it means "Something Moon Hall". Also, if you look closely you can see the name written again on the utility pole to the left. That's actually a common way to advertise in Japan, with the ability to read top-to-bottom making these vertical spaces quite suitable for this purpose.
My search for a place to eat should remain fruitless for a while. Instead, I come across a bunch of shrines as well as one temple. Much to my delight, one shrine is an Inari shrine that features foxes, but more unusually, the temple's entrance is adorned by a diagonal tree which is just low enough that European-sized people such as myself have to duck in order to enter.
Another thing I find is a discount Jidouhanbaiki. These can be found in quite a lot of places if you keep your eyes open, and sell all drinks for only 100¥ instead of the usual 120¥ or 130¥.
Well, almost all drinks, that is. Fancy drinks like the Godzilla III Energy drink still sell at a premium, but the majority of drinks costs only 100¥.
Next, I come across a place that sells Taiyaki, which is definitely Japanese, but more of a snack than a meal, so I pass that place by too and continue.
Subsequently, I walk past the Uraguchichou Bochi (浦口町墓地 "Bay Mouth Town Cemetery"), which is built upon a mount in an impressive array of terraces. In fact, many Japanese cemeteries can be found covering the hillside near temples. The temple from which this particular cemetery "originates", however, is located on the far side of the hill, so I should not get to see it.
Another thing I notice is that a disproportionately large number of houses here in Ise feature rich blue roofs. It's not really many, only maybe 1 in 20 or so, but they do stand out. I don't think I've seen anything like this anywhere else in Japan either.
Moving on, many more shrines and some temples await me. Several of the shrines are in blissfully shady areas, though the downside to that is that insects tend to congregate in these cool areas as well, so I end up getting bitten quite a lot despite wearing insect-repellent. Anyway, a few of these shrines pretty clearly belong to Ise Jingu, and one of the temples is actually more of a ruin than an active place of worship.
As I continue making my way roughly into the direction of the river, I come across a plot of land where someone apparently took the term "solar farm" too literally and put his solar panels in a corral...
...and also a parking lot where someone saw fit to block off a row of parking spaces with cute animal road blocks.
Climbing a nearby rise, I finally catch my first glimpse of the nearby river...
...but much more importantly, I finally come across a place to have lunch at: The Kafe Miyagawa Terasu (カフェ宮川テラス "Cafe Shrine River Terrace"). Looking kinda nondescript, most tourists would probably walk right by this place (or much more likely never even get to this part of town), but since I can read at least basic Japanese, I am instantly drawn in by the red flag on which big, friendly letters promise an Oishii Ranchi (おいしい ランチ "Tasty Lunch"). Also, the big Torii right next to the Cafe probably helped reel me in.
This turns out to be a cozy little place run by a pair of nice ladies. They even have Kitsune Udon on their menu, though when I try to order that the lady serving quickly checks with the other lady, and then apologetically tells me that sadly they have run out of Inari-age for the dish. So instead I end up ordering Ise-Udon once again. It is the local specialty after all, and as tasty today as it was yesterday. Also, I gulp down quite a lot of glasses of complimentary cold water.
Much to my surprise, the ladies also hand out a round of small bits of cake with cream for everyone in the Cafe, which is only a handful of people other than me. In Japanese, freebies like these are occasionally given away, and are referred to as Saabisu (サービス "Service").
With a full belly and a body temperature that is probably a few degrees cooler than at my arrival, I proceed to the next thing on my agenda, namely checking out the nearby shrine as advertised by aforementioned Torii. This one bears the kinda long name of Matsui Mago Uemonsha (松井孫右衛門社 "Pine Well Grandchild Right Defense Gate Shrine"), and the most striking feature of it is the avenue leading closer to the river, because as it turns out the actual shrine is tiny. It does have an additional tiny Inari shrine nearby though.
Afterwards I finally reach Miyagawa, where I witness a group of people bringing in sacks of hay from the mown meadows at the riverside. Also, from this perspective I get a nice view of the hills and mountains in the distance.
From there, I follow Miyagawa downstream for a while, walking along a lovely green walk atop the dam near the riverbank.
This particular stretch of land near the riverside is actually park known as Miyagawa Tsutsumi Kouen (宮川堤公園 "Shrine River Bank Park"), and is famous for its many cherry trees, some of which even feature little shrines beneath them. Among the types of cherry trees on this riverbank are the Somei Yoshino (染井吉野 "Colored Well Lucky Field") - also known as the Yoshino Cherry and the most well-known and popular type of Japanese cherry trees - the Shidare Zakura (枝垂桜 "Weeping Cherry"), as well as the Yama Zakura (山桜 "Mountain Cherry"). One of the shrines is in fact located right next to the charred remains of a cherry tree that was struck by lightning, and, as chance would have it, Bea and Brett actually have been to this particular tree just the day before while Robert and I were hiking to the Naiku.
Eventually, I leave the river behind and head back east through the quiet streets of Ise.
Naturally that also means I run into quite a lot of shrines again, some of which look like they belong to the Ise Jingu as well. I also come across a real rarity: A tiny Hachiman shrine. This is unusual, because unlike Inari shrines - which are tiny more often than not - Hachiman shrines are usually quite big and lavish.
My route also happens to lead me straight through a very narrow alley. Definitely won't have to worry about cars here. But then again, since this is Japan, I generally don't have to worry about cars on most of the side roads.
Case in point: Look at a side street of any western city and count the cars there, both parked and moving. Then compare that with how Japanese side streets typically look like.
Eventually, just a little bit past the northernmost point of my stray, I happen across a hidden little gem: Okisa Inari Jinja (於喜佐稲荷神社 "At Rejoice Help Inari Shrine"), which features not only a very rare tunnel of uncolored Torii, but also a notable number of foxes not only at its main building, but also both of its tiny little side shrines. This is notable enough for me to consider it a Bronze Fox Shrine.
Incidentally, by now I have ventured out far enough that individual corners of land are still covered by agriculture. I can only imagine that the acute corner of this field must be pretty hard to harvest, even with the cute little rice harvesting machines that typically work these fields.
By now, it's already 15:00, and since I'm not sure anymore whether I agreed to meet with Robert in front of the station at 15:30 or 16:30, I figure it's time to make a beeline for that, just in case. However, I still take the time to briefly stop by the occasional shrines, which is why I find this little Inari shrine where the resident foxes have been blessed offerings in the form of tasty Aburaage, sake, and even some cake.
Since I'm a bit pressed for time now, I abandon my usual habit of snaking through the back roads in favor of following a bigger road that even features sidewalks, and curiously trees in bloom, even though it's September. Also, once again, take note of the relative absence of cars here.
Along the way I walk by a sign advertising a cutely named English school advertising with native English speakers as teachers. This advertisement is not necessarily directed at children, by the way, since English schools are also a popular place for Japanese women to hook up with foreigners. Knowing that much, the name of this school totally gets a totally different sort of innuendo.
I manage to reach the railroad station just in time for the earlier possible meetup time at 15:30... or at least I would have if not for the railroad crossing closing up right in front of my nose. Luckily here in Japan the barriers don't stay down for all that long.
Fortunately it turns out that the meeting time was apparently 16:30, so I have about an hour or so left. I spend that by straying over to the Ujiyamada station, because I actually just realized this morning that I accidentally pocketed the log of the Geocache hidden there, so I better return that now before we move on to the next city tomorrow. On the way back from there I pass through a little unnamed Shoutengai, which is not any more busy than the Takayanagi Shoutengai. Guess the Green Shnolz really did a number on these places. Friday afternoon should normally be a reasonably busy time, methinks.
Another thing I find on my way back is the legendary 14G baseball, which was placed here in honor of Eiji Sawamura (栄治沢村 "Honorable Reign Swamp Village"), a legendary baseball pitcher who pitched the first no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball. He might have had a promising career, hat he not been drafted to fight in WW2 and killed in action near the end of the war when the ship he was on was torpedoed off the coast of Taiwan. To this day, the Eiji Sawamura award is annually awarded to the most valuable pitcher of both Japanese baseball leagues.
Konbu Killjoy
Distance: 4.7kmAscents: 10m
Duration: 1.75h
5⛩ (3🦊); 1卍
While looking up things to do around Ise, Robert found a Konbu store that offers workshops for how to make various things out of Konbu - that is, edible kelp. Since that sounds like a fun and unusual activity that is also typically Japanese, we decided to go there together this afternoon, which is what we set out to do now. The way there should lead me past the Ujiyamada station for the fifth time now, and then east into a part of town that we only crossed by bus before. In fact, the Konbu store is located directly at the corner of a junction where the bus to Meoto-Iwa took a left. And after visiting the Konbu store we should head west, crossing my earlier stray, and then south, heading for a Yakizakana (焼き魚 "Grilled Fish") place that I spied out on my very first place and which Robert expressed an interest in. After that, we head back to our Airbnb with minimal detours.
As we start out second stray today, the sun is already kinda low in the sky. We still have about an hour or so of daylight left, but the shadows are already stretching eagerly towards the eastern horizon.
Making our way through the streets, I realize that lifelike animal statues on roofs seem to be another thing of this area. Or how else would you explain first the monkeys, then the pigeons, and now a pair of extremely lifelike hawks. These are even painted to the point where its impossible to tell if they're fake, or just perching really, really still.
Eventually, our stray takes us to the Kendou 102-Ban (県道102号 "Prefectural Road N°102"), which is one of the few named roads in Japan. Also, despite being one of the major roads here, it still doesn't feature a lot of traffic. Also, no parking cars.
It is precisely 17:00 by the time we reach the Konbu shop, and annoyingly I forgot to take a picture of it, so here's one from Google. Also, do note that this house once again features those brilliant blue shingles on its roof.
Once inside, however, we're in for a dose of disappointment. Turns out that while that store is open until 18:00, the last Konbu workshop would have started at 17:00. We're only a minute or so too late, but that's the thing about Japanese punctuality, it can work in your favor, or against it. And in this case it works against us, since the people running the workshop have already begun to pack up since no one showed up by 17:00, so, no Konbu workshop for us. Joke's on them, though, since that meant they just alienated a pair of customers willing to pay good money for that. Oh well...
At least that gives us enough daylight on the way back to drop by some more shrines and temples, one of which even features a big cow statue. I feel bad for Robert though. I can literally live on shrines and temples here, but I bet Robert would have enjoyed the change of pace. Also, it would have been an interesting story to tell here, and a nice souvenir to bring home and share with my other friends and father.
Oh well, I suppose I can still make up for it with some tasty dinner. And no, with that I do not mean Japan Standard Pizza.
By now, we're walking pretty much exactly west, and are as such headed straight for the presently occurring sunset.
Since Robert is a little bit footsore from his hike up Asamayama (which he tells me was a little bit monotone, since all of the trail, as well as the summit was covered in trees, so he didn't even get a good view of the surrounding landscape), we're pretty much making a beeline for aforementioned Yakizakana place. But along the way we also randomly pass by the sake bar with The Shortest Name, Shorter Than Any Other Name EVER™. That place is simply called え ("E").
Meanwhile, we are headed for the nearby Mangaichi Shokudou (まんがいち食堂 "One-in-ten-thousand Canteen"), the flags outside of which announce read "Eigyouchuu" (営業中 "Open for Business") and aforementioned "Yakizakana".
And good things these flags are there, because without them we probably would have assumed it to be closed, because there are no people inside either. But we take heart and step in, and find ourselves inside a typical Shokudou, which means that instead of sitting at a table you put together a tray of foods that are on display at a counter and then pay for that right there.
There's plenty of stuff to pick from in little dishes, and so we can pretty much arrange ourselves a little Kaiseki all of our own, and we still only pay a little over a thousand yen per nose. Also, much to my delight Natto is an option here, so naturally I pick a bowl of that to put on my rice. There's also free water and Mugicha (麦茶 "Barley Tea"), which is really not my favorite. I didn't like it the last time I was in Japan, and it turns out I still don't like it now, so I only have that one glass before switching over to water.
"But wait!" you may say, "where's the advertised grilled fish?". Well, funny story, that. Turns out that the grilled fish is where this deviates from a normal Shokudou, since that is something you order and which is prepared fresh. How that works is that there's a number of "placeholder plates" which only have a piece of paper with the fish in question on them. You take those to the cashier, pay for it, and then you can already start eating your ready-to-eat dishes while waiting for the fish, which is later brought to your table. It's actually quite a clever system, with the only downside being that the fish names are naturally in Japanese, so what we order actually comes as a bit of a surprise. However, in the end both of us are quite satisfied with the fish that we get.
After that satisfying dinner, all that's left is the way back to the Airbnb through the darkening streets. By the way, while we've been doing our thing here today, Bea and Brett have been all the way to Himeji Castle and also visited the Imperial palace in Kyoto, so they sure had a busy day themselves.
With that, our stay here in Ise is slowly but surely coming to end end. Time for...
The Retrospective
Though the upstairs would normally be shared with other guests, we had it more or less to ourselves. The rooms were a bit small, but that's normal for Japan, and really, at least I for my tail don't need that much if I'm gonna spend most of the day outside anyways. However, the futons were a little bit hard, so that's a bit of a downer. Food was not included, but there were basic kitchen supplies and some tea available that I helped myself to on the morning where I had to take care of laundry and sewing. The place was also nice and quiet, and Masako was a very kind host, making me feel right at home. We had a shared bathroom and showers outside of our rooms, as well as a washing machine we could use free of charge. The place also had shopping options nearby, and was not too far away from a station. The WiFi worked, as did the AC, which was really important with these hot temperatures. However, the price was a little bit above what I feel that much was worth, costing us 3,350¥ per night and nose. Altogether, this was definitely a good place, though, if a little cut below the Ryokan Kosen in Nara.
So much for that. Now, all that's left is...
The Road Ahead
The next day we should embark on our epic trip from Ise to Shizuoka (静岡
"Silent Hill"), taking a route that is spectacularly unconventional, and
as such definitely deserving of a chapter of its own. As such, I'm gonna
cover it in the next chapter of the Travelling Fox Blog, so look forward
to that. And until then, be of great cheer!
