Hirano Shrine
– Hirano Shrine – 平野神社 – Kyoto（京都） – May 4, 2018 Hirano Shrine was built in 794. Now its a pretty quiet location most of the year. It’s famous for its beautiful cherry blossoms in the spring. Location:
Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine
– Kitano Tenman-gu Shrine – 北野天満宮 – Kyoto（京都） – May 4, 2018 Kitano Tenman-gu is a large, beautiful shrine that was built over 1000 years ago. It was built in honor of Sugawara Michizane, a scholar from the Heian period. It’s extremely popular among students who are studying for entrance exams. As you walk up, there are many statues of cows along the walkway. People touch them for good luck. There is also a large grove of plum trees growing here that is beautiful in the spring. If you visit in March, you should check them out. Location:
Futami Okitama Shrine
– Futami Okitama Shrine – 二見興玉神社- Ise（伊勢） – April 29, 2018 Futami Okitama Shrine is best known for the two wedded rocks in the ocean next to it, Meoto-Iwa (husband and wife rocks). Many people like to visit here before Ise Jingu to purify themselves, but we did the exact opposite. As you’d expect of a shrine with such a landmark, it’s popular among couples. This was our first trip as a married couple, and we got a husband and wife omamori set. You can see many frog statues around the shrine. The main kami enshrined here is Sarutahiko no…
Sarutahiko Shrine (Ise)
– Sarutahiko Shrine – 猿田彦神社 – Ise（伊勢） – April 29, 2018 Sarutahiko Shrine is not far from Ise Grand Shrine Naiku. It’s a good place to stop if you decide to walk along Okage-yokocho. It’s on the opposite end from Naiku. Sarutahiko Okami is the kami enshrined here. He was the leader among earthly kami. Many people visit to pray for safe travel and business success. The shrine is very pretty. The torii is a simple wooden structure with lovely decorative caps on the ends. On your way in, you’ll notice that the temizuya is covered in stickers. Location:
Ise Grand Shrine Naiku
– Ise Grand Shrine Naiku – 伊勢神宮内宮 – Ise（伊勢） – April 29, 2018 Ise Grand Shrine, or Ise Jingu, is considered to be Japan’s most sacred shrine. Jingu is not a single place, but a huge complex of shrines through the area centered around Geku (the outer shrine) and Naiku (the inner shrine). Naiku houses Amaterasu-Omikami, the sun goddess and the ancestor of the Japanese imperial line. Geku and Naiku both were designed and built before the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, so the architecture is pure, old-style Shinto. Ise Jingu is also special in that a new Naiku and…
Ise Grand Shrine Blue Goshuincho
Ise Grand Shrine Geku Goshuincho When: April 29, 2017 Where: Ise Grand Shrine Naiku Size: Large (12cm x 18cm) I originally got the small purple goshincho at Geku, but when I was looking at the shop at Naiku I really loved this light blue goshuincho. I wound up buying two at Ise Jingu. The pattern on this goshuincho is simple, but because of the way its woven it sparkles quite a bit. The Ise Jingu logo is woven into it. This one costs 1200 yen. This design is not available at Geku. At Naiku, this and a few other…
Ise Grand Shrine Geku
– Ise Grand Shrine Geku – 伊勢神宮外宮 – Ise（伊勢） – April 29, 2018 Ise Grand Shrine, or Ise Jingu, is considered to be Japan’s most sacred shrine. Jingu is not a single place, but a huge complex of shrines through the area centered around Geku (the outer shrine) and Naiku (the inner shrine). This is the goshuin for Geku. Like a lot of older shrines’ goshuin, it is very simple. This goshuin is from Geku. It’s a fairly short walk straight out from Iseshi Station. This outer shrine was established during the 5th century. Geku houses Touyoke Omikami, the…
Ise Grand Shrine Purple Goshuincho
Ise Grand Shrine Purple Goshuincho When: April 29, 2017 Where: Ise Grand Shrine Geku and Naiku Size: Small (11.5cm x 16cm) I was determined to get a goshuincho from Ise Grand Shrine when I finally visited. The first stop we made was Geku. This goshuincho is the simplest in my collection. Other than the usual goshuincho written on the label, there’s no writing or fancy illustrations on the front or back covers. It’s covered completely by a woven tiled pattern of the Ise Grand Shrine symbol. This goshuincho was 1000 yen plus 300 for the goshuin for Geku. This…
Osaka Tenman-gu Shrine
– Osaka Tenman-gu Shrine – 大阪天満宮 – Osaka（大阪） – March 25, 2018 Osaka Tenman-gu Shrine is one of the many important shrines in Japan. It enshrines the god of scholarship, Sugawara no Michizane, so it’s very popular with students. It was built in 949 AD by the emperor Murakami, but it was burnt down and rebuilt a number of times throughout history. The building we see today was built in 1845. Tenjin Matsuri, a boat festival, is hosted here. We stopped by here real quick. I was impressed by the details around the roof. Location:
Hozenji
– Hozenji – 法善寺 – Osaka（大阪） – February 3, 2018 Dude had to go to Kansai for a wedding, so I decided to tag along to do some of my own sightseeing. It’s not very often I get to freely explore the city. Naturally, I searched for a few shrines and temples to visit in the Nanba area, and Hozenji is a small temple right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Nanba. If you notice the date, I visited on February 3, 2018. It might not look special, but it was Setsubun, a special holiday where you…
