21 places on the main route where we can experience Japanese history
(1) Ujibashi Bridge, Naiku (Inner Shrine), The Grand Shrines of Ise, Ise,Mie
(C)T.Okamoto
With Japan’s largest shrine compound, the Grand Shrines of Ise occupy one third of the area of the city of Ise. The shrines are believed to have been built in the 7th century. For a ceremony called Shikinen Sengu which is carried out every twenty years, the shrine buildings are rebuilt and the garbs of the priests and shrine treasures are replaced with new ones. In 1993, the 61st Shikinen Sengu ceremony was held. In the Oharai-machi quarter near the Inner Shrine is a new tourist attraction, the Okage Yokocho street which is a reproduction of the old pilgrimage road to the Shrines. It can be accessed by Mie Kotsu bus from Ujiyamada Station or Ise-shi Station on the Kintetsu Railway Toba line. Around the city of Ise, there are tourist spots such as Shima/Kashikojima, one of Japan’s most famous resorts, and an amusement park laid out like a Spanish Village (Parque Espana).
