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