Discover Kansai

Iseshima is an area about two hours east of Osaka that attracts visitors year-round. Iseshima is well known for its seafood and pearl products, and has been designated a national park. Visitors can enjoy the natural beauty of Iseshima’s rugged coastline, visit small coastal villages and woman diver huts, and taste fresh locally-caught seafood. A theme park and an aquarium are also well-known attractions in the area, but the most visited spot by far is Ise Jingu Shrine.

Ise Jingu Shrine is Japan’s most sacred shrine and is often referred to as “the heart of Japan.” The shrine itself is said to be a “power spot” and both Japanese and foreign tourists alike visit the large outdoor parks as a pilgrimage to rejuvenate and energize their spirits. Ise Jingu Shrine is split into two separate sections, Naiku (inner shrine) and Geku (outer shrine). Each one is centered around a different god and each one hosts a wide array of smaller shrines for visitors to pray for prosperity, peace, luck and much more.

I recently visited Ise Jingu Shrine while traveling through the Kansai area on the Kintetsu Railway, and found that, while the shrine was overcrowded with visitors, the area did have a certain underlying energy that was hard to ignore. The day before I had stayed at a minshuku (bed and breakfast) near Ugata Station [insert article hyperlink]. In the morning, I hopped on the Kintestu Shima Line bound for Nagoya and departed at Ugata Station.

Iseshi Station was surprisingly small for the number of tourists that must pass through it each day, but it looked well maintained and felt charming because of its size. Signs for Ise Jingu Shrine Geku are placed in easy to spot locations, and guests need only walk out the front entrance and straight down the boulevard to arrive at the first of Ise Jingu’s two locations.

Ise Jingu Shrine Geku, also known as Toyouke Daijingu,is dedicated to the god Toyouke. This god is the guardian of cloth, food and shelter, and provides sacred food for the god Amaterasu (who Naiku is dedicated to and the god originally worshipped by the Imperial family). The pathways in Geku are lined with large cedar trees and smaller pathways branch off from the main path periodically, leading to smaller shrines which house various deities. Guests can pick up an English map at either the visitors center or any of the guard stations. If you want to pray to a particular god, or all of them, or just enjoy the natural beauty of a sunlight-dappled pathway, take a stroll through Ise Jingu Shrine Geku before hopping on a bus to Naiku.

I don’t hold any special place in my heart for religion, but as far as religions go, Shintoism is one of the most attractive options in my opinion. The buildings may not be as gaudy, ornamental or colorful as their Buddhist counterparts, but the animistic nature of the religion has always appealed to me. The idea that anything could house a god and deserves worship is, in my mind, a beautiful concept. As I walked along the overcrowded pathways of Ise Jingu Shrine and watched the visitors around, I was reminded of this idea.