To Ise and back

One notable problem with blogging about Japan is that most of the images you can get don’t relate that well to what you see. Indeed, in the most sacred temples and sanctuaries, you are not allowed to take photographs. And when you search for some on the web, for exactly that reason, you are left with little to show.

In a way, this is great because we realize how privileged we are: we are no longer in the world of images. In fact, it seems almost unnatural in 2016.

This week-end we went of to Ise.

Ise is the place where the most important Shinto sanctuaries are. For those who are not aware, there are two religions in Japan. Buddhism which was introduced in the 6th century and Shintoism which was there much before.

There have been sanctuaries in Ise since at least the 3rd century. These are organised in two main settlements, one the Naiku, the other is the  Geku.

As in all great religions, the place which is believed to be the heart of that religion is crowded. Very crowded. Being a week-end, Naiku was full of visitors, with hardly no foreigners.

The place is very quiet, even with the huge crowds which are present. You walk under the Torii, over the bridge (Ujibashi) and circulate from shrine to shrine. These are all only a few years old! The particularity in Ise is that the shrines get rebuilt with new materials every 20 years. You can even see the ground on which the next shrine will be built. The skilled carpenters will follow the original design.

Ise is a small town a bit more than two hours train away from Kyoto. Getting there allowed us to test (again) the impressive Japanese train service. What was also surprising was the quantity of beer and Sake which was drunk on board, even in the morning train. Somehow, travelling seems to require something to eat and something to drink. We will be better prepared next time.

Ise being by the sea, there are also many different things one can eat: warm rice with tuna fish was great, the lobster sashimi didn’t meet my expectancies. And the different cockles were, ah, interesting.

On the Sunday, feeling brave, we cycled to Meoto Iwa : these are two small rocks, united by some rope. They are celebrated for good fortune in marriage. The cycling was hard with temperatures less than 0 and a very strong wind. The best was surely the stop for coffee in a local. They all tried to say something nice!

From the train

Buses going to Naiku

Crowd at Naiku

Purification in Isuzu river

Fish sold near Naiku

Crowd waiting to taste some street-food near Naiku

Miso, sushi, pickles

Beware of the cockles

Perhaps an overstatement (but very nice)

Lobster sashimi

Our hotel, at Ise

Breakfast time in Ise

Yes. The photo is blurry. But then it was -2°C and blowing a gale

Meotoiwa

Frog at Futami

The start of the Pacific… Not very pacific today!

Not sure I will be able to say if the earthquake has lasted more than one minute…