Shrines, coastlines and ama divers 2-day trip to Ise-Shima National Park japan-guide.com

One of the 34 national parks in Japan, the Ise Shima National Park encompasses the Shima Peninsula. Located on the Pacific coast to the east of Osaka and south of Nagoya, it's an area renowned for its natural beauty, with a deeply forested interior surrounded on three sides by a long, winding stretch of coastline scattered with small islands. Aside from its incredible scenery, the area is best known as the home of Ise Jingu, one of the most important Shinto shrines in all of Japan. In addition to its stunning ocean vistas, Ise Shima's coast is known both for the quality of its seafood and its iconic free-diving fishermen known as Ama. More recently, it became the birthplace of pearl cultivation. Easily accessed by train from Kyoto, Osaka or Nagoya, the area is best experienced with an overnight stay. My name is Matt Evans and in this video I'll explore some of Ise Shima's scenic and cultural highlights as a two-day trip. Here's the plan. On day one I'll explore the Ise Jingu shrines and stay overnight at a seaside ryokan. Then on day two I'll make my way down the peninsula by train to Kashikojima where I'll take a cruise of the Ago Bay, hike to an observation deck and enjoy a meal at an Ama hut where I'll meet some active traditional Ama divers. Day one. I begin my journey in Ise City, gateway to the Ise Shima National Park and home to most of the 125 shrines that together make up Ise Jingu. Of these, the two most important are Geku and Naiku. It's customary to start by visiting Geku, located just a few minutes walk from Ise-shi station. Incredibly, every structure here is rebuilt from scratch every 20 years, a tradition that has continued for approximately 1,300 years allowing the skills of traditional craftsmanship to be passed from generation to generation. The climax of this unique event, the moving of the deities from the old building to the new, will next take place in 2033. The gate behind me is as close as we can come to the main sanctuary which is off-limits to most visitors and can't be photographed. As you can see, the main buildings are only just visible. But over to my left, you can see the empty lot where the next building will be constructed. With every rebuild, it alternates between these two spaces. Within the grounds of Geku, several smaller secondary shrines like this one can also be found. Visitors may be limited to just a glimpse of the main building but here at the Sengukan Museum, you can get a sense of it. Let's take a look. Built to mark the occasion of the shrine's last rebuilding and to explain the tradition behind it, this museum contains a detailed model of the main sanctuary, a partial one-to-one reconstruction of the main building itself, and various exhibits on the expert craftsmanship that goes into the construction process. After exploring Geku, I make my way to Naiku, located a few kilometres out from the centre of town. As the most important shrine in all of Japan, Naiku has attracted a constant stream of visitors for many centuries and the bustling town of restaurants and shops has grown along its approach, called Oharaimachi. This is the local speciality, Ise udon. It's one of the softest types of udon noodles in Japan and traditionally cooked very fast to keep up with the large numbers of visitors. You could call it a kind of traditional fast food. It's very good. It's definitely a bit softer than usual. It comes in this lovely sweet sauce. After lunch, I pass through Okage-yokocho, a small part of Oharaimachi with buildings reconstructed in the style of the Edo period. After exploring the area's many shops and restaurants, I cross over the Uji Bridge into Naiku. From simple gravel pathways to its structures built entirely from natural materials, all the elements here feel perfectly in harmony with the surrounding forest. Following centuries-long tradition, I wash my hands in the water of the Isuzu River before making my way to the main sanctuary. At the top of these stone steps is the main sanctuary where the sun goddess Amaterasu Omikami, the most important Shinto deity and mythological ancestor of the imperial family, is enshrined. Behind me is a secondary shrine dedicated to a wind god. It's made up of the same design elements that we can see at the main buildings, but on a much smaller scale. Like all the shrine buildings here, it's built in a style called shimezukuri, originating from the architecture of ancient storehouses. These distinctive finials cresting the front of the roof are called chigi. At Naiku, they are cut horizontally, while the ones over at Geku are cut vertically. The short decorative logs laid across the length of the roof are called katsuogi. The main hall at Naiku has ten of these, and this building, being less important, has six. After exploring the shrines, I make my way just outside the city to the seaside town of Toba, where I'll enjoy a seafood dinner at a traditional inn. With its vast stretch of coastline, it's no surprise that the Shima Peninsula is home to some of Japan's most celebrated seafood. Well, this is a real treat. Tonight I'm going to be trying three of the area's most famous dishes, all highly sought after, not only here but throughout Japan. Itadakimasu! This is ise-ebi, a small spiny lobster from the Ise Bay. That's amazing. This is matsuzaka beef, one of the finest varieties of wagyu from nearby Matsuzaka City. It really is just amazingly soft. There's no crunchiness to it or anything, just perfect. Day two. From Toba Station, I take the train down the peninsula to the Ago Bay, a vast coastal inlet dotted with islands. Arriving into Kashikojima Station at the end of the Kintetsu Line, I change to a sightseeing boat to explore the bay with its many small islands. The bay is one of several areas along the peninsula famous for pearl cultivation. It's here that Mikimoto Kokichi, one of Japan's greatest inventors, became the first man in the world to cultivate pearls in 1893. His company was one of the first Japanese brands to achieve international recognition and still exists today. After the cruise, I take a train and bus to the sleepy seaside village of Hazako, from where I'll be walking one small section of the Kinki Nature Trail. The trail is an extensive network of walking routes spanning over 3,000 kilometers through nine prefectures. There are many nice stages to hike, but I've chosen this one, leading up to a wooded hill where various observatories can be found. Having been recently renovated, the Yokoyama Viewpoint sports a spacious deck made of Japanese cypress. From the deck, we get this amazing panoramic view across the full length of the Ago Bay. It's a maze of around 60 small islands, looking almost like the branches of a tree. The waters are sheltered from the sea, making them wonderfully calm and peaceful. From the viewpoint, I walk down the hill to Shima Yokoyama Station and take the train to Matsuo, then change to a bus for my final stop at Osatsu-cho. Here, at a traditional Amahat, tourists can learn more about these women of the sea and their ancient tradition of freediving for oysters, abalone and other seafood. Appearing in poetry from as early as the 8th century, it's a unique and even romantic way of life, but one that now faces an uncertain future. At the Amahat, I have the chance to meet some of these extraordinary women and try some delicious local seafood. Amahats like this are traditionally where divers would return after a long shift at sea to warm themselves and get a bite to eat. Here, I'm treated to a meal of scallops, mollusks and horse mackerel hand-cooked over an open fire. And with that, my time in the Ise Shiman National Park is drawing to an end. From atmospheric shrines and ocean views to local cuisines steeped in tradition, it's been a fun and hugely inspiring couple of days. I hope you've enjoyed this video and that you'll find some ideas here for your next trip. For more information about this trip or to watch another video, click the links on the screen now or head over to japan-guide.com, your comprehensive, up-to-date travel guide, first-hand from Japan. Thanks for watching, be sure to subscribe and click the notification bell for more great content. Happy travels!