おかげ横丁

　Ise shrine is one of the most important shrines in Japan. It is worth visiting there to see the Japanese culture. Also, Okage-Yokotyou, next to Ise Shrine is very good. We can enjoy the Japanese cultural town. There streets are lined with neat rows of stores and houses. Moreover the souvenirs we can buy there are very attractive and interesting. We can get traditional foods such as Akafuku, pickled vegetables and traditional handicraft such as chopsticks, dyed fabric, etc. They are all wonderful and beautiful.

ISE general information

Jingu is often introduced in the dictionary as "Ise Jingu." However, the official name is "Jingu" without "Ise." Jingu is principally composed of the Naiku where Amaterasu Omikami, the ancestral kami of the Imperial Family, is worshiped and Geku where Toyouke Omikami, the kami of agriculture and industry, is worshiped.
Naiku is the alternative name for Kotaijingu, the sanctuary that is located in the southern part of Ise city, Mie, and was founded about 2000 years ago.
Geku is the alternative name for Toyoukedaijingu. This sanctuary is located in the center of Ise city, Mie, and was founded about 1500 years ago.
In the area around Jingu, 125 subsidiary shinto sanctuaries are distributed. 91 of them are connected with the Naiku and 32 with the Geku.
Jingu is described in the oldest Japanese books "Kojiki" and "Nihonshoki", edited about 1300 years ago. Many generations of our ancestors have worshiped at the Jingu, which exists now just as it was at its beginning.

How to worship The general procedure to worship the kami is as follows.
(1) Bow very deeply twice.
(2) Clap your hands twice at the height of your chest.
(3) Worship with your hands held together.
(4) Bow once more very deeply.


Hours for worshiping

January to February　→　5:00 am - 5:30 pm
March to April, September to October　→　5:00 am - 6:00 pm
May through August　→　4:00 am - 7:00 pm
November to December　→　5:00 am - 5:00 pm
December 31 to January 6　→　Every day, 24 hours

access

Ise is one of the cities in Mie prefecture, which next to Aichi. However it takes about 2 hours to get Ise by car, so using train is better than car.

Using "JR Kaisoku Mie", you can directly get Ise station from Nagoya station. It takes about hour and half, and cost 1940 yen from Nagoya to Ise.

ISE

This is the main shop of Akafuku.

As you know, Akafuku couldn't sell their food for quite a while. This picture was taken on 18th November, 2007.

Unluckily, I could not have Akafuku!

Akafuku Co. started selling Akafuku again recently.

Many many people were making a long line in front of the shop.