Ise was our beautiful accidental adventure. Before I left for Kumamo Kodo, I told UN I wanted to visit Ine, but UN misunderstood me and thought I said Ise. We realized the mixup when he told me the itinerary he planned. So that’s how we came to Ise.

Accommodation

One Ancient Rest Inn
https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/ikyu/

UN thoughtfully planned an onsen ryokan so that my tired legs and body can enjoy some R&R after hiking Kumano Kodo. Our ryokan was conveniently located near Ise Jingu, comes with breakfast, dinner and ramen for midnight snack. Every meal was delicate and spectacular. We enjoyed Ise shrimp (more like a lobster) and Matsusaka beef. The onsen was perfect!

Day One

We picked up our rental car at Kansai Airpot and drove 3 hours east to Ise, part of Mie prefecture. On the way, we passed by Nara, Iga, and Matsusaka. I filled UN in on the heroics of our Kumano Kodo hike as we passed by the rice fields and countryside along the freeway.

Day Two

Ise Grand Shrine | Butasute | Akafuku

Back in the days when pilgrims traveled by foot, they would rest and replenish their energy at omotesando before they proceed to worship at the shrine. I absolutely love the food at the omotesando leading to Ise Jingu, it lives up to its reputation for being the most delicious omotesando in all of Japan. Two of my favorites are Butasute and Akafuku. Butasute translates to “throw away pork”, they sell only beef dishes: gyu-don, beef sukiyaki, beef yakiniku, gyu-nabe, and beef croquettes. Min-ji is salted flavor, and croquette is sweet flavor. Akafuku is known for their sweets, I am a fan of their signature mochi-filled red bean paste, and UN likes their shaved ice. We like it so much that we went back several times during our three days there. Ise Jingu is the most sacred Shinto shrine in Japan, houses the sacred mirror, one of three sacred items linked to Japanese mythology. Ise Jingu has an inner shrine (Neiku) and an outer shrine (Geku), and they serve different functions.

Day Three

Meoto Iwa (Couple Rock) | Osatsu Ama Hut

We got up before breakfast to enjoy walking through the empty and quiet omotesando before the busyness of the day starts. After breakfast we drove to the nearby Meoto Iwa (Couple Rock). TBH, a bit underwhelming and smaller than we expected. For lunch we went to one of the Ama Diver shacks. They serve very fresh seafood at these shacks. We learned about Ama Divers from watching local TV. These are usually couples who fish for fresh seafood, the husband would drive the boat, and the wife would free dive and search for seafood. The shack serves fresh catch-of-the-day seafood, and are cooked live in front of guests on charcoal. Many of these Ama Divers are well in their 60s and 70s and love what they do.

Day Four

Nara | Todai Ji

We stayed the night at Nara and visited Todai Ji, which houses the tallest Buddha in all of Japan. Compared to before the pandemics, Nara is quieter and less crowded, and subsequently the deers appeared scrawnier.

Our Ine trip became Ise trip, spent a lot time in onsen and ate lots of delicious delicacies. Highly recommend visiting Ise!

Chinese Translation

來伊勢絕對是一場美好的的誤會!前往熊野古道前，我和UN說想去Ine(伊根)，但UN誤以為我想去Ise(伊勢)。UN計畫伊勢行程後把旅行計畫講給我聽時，我們才發現兩人說的地點完全不同。 (太搞笑了！）所以我們就來到伊勢，哈哈哈哈哈!

住宿

伊久
https://www.hotespa.net/hotels/ikyu/

貼心的UN訂了溫泉旅館，讓爬完熊野古道後累到不行的我能大放鬆!旅館的位置非常棒，離伊勢神宮非常近。一泊二食，每餐都很精緻味道也很棒，還能吃到伊勢海老和松阪豬牛，溫泉當然也沒話講!

第一天

下午在關西機場領車後，我們開往伊勢約將近三小時。沿路經過奈良、伊賀、松阪，再到三重縣伊勢。聊著我和朋友在熊野古道的英勇事蹟，路上沿路稻田和鄉間小屋，好美的一幅畫!

第二天

伊勢神宮 | 豚捨 | 赤福

太喜歡伊勢神宮外表參道的食物，每樣的好美味，果然有著表參道最好吃的名聲!其中我最愛豚捨和赤福，讓我們久候也願意。豚捨意指捨棄豬肉，不賣其他肉類，只賣牛肉(類似職人精神?) 專賣牛丼、牛肉壽喜燒、烤牛肉、牛肉火鍋，還有非常有名的牛肉可樂餅。赤福則是有我很愛的赤福餅(麻糬外裹著紅豆沙)和UN喜歡的赤福冰，我們還去了好幾次! 伊勢神宮是全日本最古老和最神聖之一，參拜的地方能看到簾子，據傳裡面藏著一面鏡子。這裡也和日本神話息息相關，而神宮分成內宮和外宮，各有不同用途。

第三天

夫妻岩 | 海女小屋

起了大早，我們趕在早餐前到伊勢神宮走走，表參道上的許多店家也還沒開門，特別安靜。飯後，我們到著名的夫妻岩，老實說照片上和實體好像有點出入。可能是比例問題，夫妻岩比我們想像的小許多。午餐則是到海女小屋用餐，這是我們在日本電視節目上看到的。有著很不一樣的文化，夫妻們會一起出船，老公會在船上而老婆(海女)會以自由潛水的方式尋找不同海鮮，每天餐廳提供的食物則以當日海女找到的海鮮為主。很多海女們都已經6、70歲，但他們還是很愛這項工作。