Visit Ise Jingu, outer shrine first

What the experience is

Ise Jingu, in Mie prefecture, is a complex of 125 shrines centred on two. The Geku, or Outer Shrine, is dedicated to Toyouke, the deity of food. The Naiku, or Inner Shrine, several kilometres away, is dedicated to Amaterasu, the sun goddess and ancestral deity of the imperial family. Both main sanctuaries are rebuilt in new cypress every twenty years, most recently in 2013 and next in 2033.

A visit is a walk in two old forests, with a short prayer at the end of each. There is no interior to enter and almost nothing to photograph. People come to be there.

The order of the visit

Custom is to go to the Outer Shrine first. It is a short walk from Iseshi and Ujiyamada stations. Allow about an hour for the gravel path through the trees to the main sanctuary and the smaller shrines nearby.

A bus then takes about fifteen to twenty minutes to the Inner Shrine. The approach crosses the Uji Bridge, a plain wooden bridge of about 100 metres over the Isuzu River, and continues under very large cedars. At Mitarashi, steps lead down to the river, where visitors rinse their hands in the current. A last flight of stone steps rises to a gate hung with a curtain. The sanctuary stands beyond, enclosed by fences; only its roof can be seen. Allow sixty to ninety minutes.

When to go

The shrines open early in the morning all year and close in the late afternoon or early evening, according to season; check the official site for hours. Early morning is by far the best time. New Year and national holidays bring very large crowds.

Good to know

Bow at each torii gate, rinse hands and mouth at the water pavilion, and at the sanctuary make the usual Shinto prayer: two bows, two claps and a final bow. Photography is allowed on the paths and bridges but not from the steps up to the main sanctuary at either shrine. Dress plainly. Outside the Inner Shrine, the street of Oharai-machi and the lanes of Okage Yokocho have restaurants and shops in the style of the Edo period, and are the place for lunch.

Kintetsu limited express trains run to Ise from Nagoya in about 80 minutes and from Osaka or Kyoto in about two hours, so the visit can be made as a long day trip. A night nearby makes the early start possible.

Why OKYTO recommends it

Ise shows the Shinto idea of the sacred in its purest form: unpainted wood, raked gravel, running water and trees, with the holy place itself kept out of sight. Seen before the crowds arrive, it is one of the quietest great monuments in Asia. Read our account of the twenty-year rebuilding. Amanemu, on the coast to the south, is the resort to combine with it, and the pilgrim paths of Kumano lie further down the peninsula.