A Day at Ise Jingu

Exploring the Many Sites of Ise Grand Shrine

Benjamin Stock Jan 28, 2013 - 1 min read

Geku, the outer shrine, is dedicated to the deity of agriculture and industry

You'll walk up and down many steps to visit all the shrines.

One of the many beautiful buildings around the complex

Decorative sake barrels, or kazaridaru, are stacked throughout the complex

The Sengukan Museum at the entrance to the Outer Shrine

Uji Bridge leads to the Inner Shrine complex

One of the mainy gold-gilded buildings in Ise

The New Year's crowds excidedly go up the steps to Naiku, the shrine of Amaterasu

A tall wall keeps Naiku's interior shrouded in mystery

January is a wonderful time to visit Ise in Mie-Prefecture and Ise's biggest attraction, Ise Jingu. The Ise Grand Shrine is a complex of 125 Shinto shrines, centered around the two main shrines, Naiku and Geku. The New Year's crowds at Naiku and Geku create an almost festival-like atmosphere, but there are also many serene places to visit among the myriad of shrines.

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Find out more about Ise Jingu.

Benjamin Stock @benjamin.stock

I enjoyed living in Japan for nearly seven years. After studying Journalism and Japanese studies in Chicago, I first went to Japan in 2005 and taught English for two years. I returned to the States, but I soon found myself back again. My second time in Japan was only for one year, which I spent w...