Ise-Shima (Ise; Toba)

Ise-Shima is the region of the Shima Peninsula and the city of Ise, on the east of Mie Prefecture, facing the Pacific Ocean. The center of the visit is Ise Jingu, the Ise shrine, the most sacred place in Shinto, dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu, the mythical ancestor of the imperial family. Since the Middle Ages, Japanese people from across the country have made pilgrimages to Ise, and the streets around the shrine developed to serve those pilgrims.

Ise Jingu is made up of 125 shrines, but visits focus on two: the Outer Shrine, Geku, near Ise-shi Station, and the Inner Shrine, Naiku, about 6 km away, set among cedar forests and the Isuzu River. The main buildings are rebuilt from scratch every 20 years in a rite called Shikinen Sengu, using the same techniques and cypress wood, a practice maintained for more than 1,300 years. In front of Naiku, the streets Oharai-machi and Okage Yokocho recreate the pilgrims’ town.

On the coast, in Futami, the married rocks of Meoto Iwa, joined by a sacred rope, sit facing the sea. Toba, about 15 km away, is the bay town where Kokichi Mikimoto produced the first cultured pearl at the end of the 19th century, and it is home to the ama, the female freedivers who collect seafood by breath-hold—an over-two-thousand-year tradition. Further south, Ago Bay, with pearl farms and islands, is part of Ise-Shima National Park.

The cuisine is seafood-based: lobster, abalone, Matoya oysters and tekone-zushi, sushi made with marinated bonito, plus Ise udon, thick soft noodles.

This destination brings together 2 cities: Ise, Toba.