Day 11
Early rise today. Too early. It was before 6am and by 6.05 me and Manuel were at the prayer room, 5min late and they had already started.
When you stay at a temple you are allowed to join the monks for their morning prayers. It happens in a special room, with a kind of altar with several statues and offerings. The monks recite sutras but they recite in a way that sounds like they are singing. There are bell and drum sounds once and a while. This goes on for more than half an hour. Monks are dressed up with very colourful kimonos, the head monk with a different colour from the others.
We may have been late but we were not the last ones to arrive. There were a lot of people attending the morning prayers and almost all seemed devotees. One by one, every person went on their knees near the altar and prayed. It was very ordered, the Japanese way, starting with the people in front and going all the way back and around till the door. As I said before, it was crowded. A couple of westerners in front of me were bullied into going in front to pray by a Japanese lady that was behind me, She was clearly eagerly waiting her turn but would not jump the queue! When my turn arrived, I just gestured for her to move along and she was happy with that. I'm not a Buddhist, I was just respectfully observing a ritual.
Although my understanding of the ritual is limited if not completely none, it was peaceful, relaxing and pleasant.
Not 20min have passed and Manuel was already bored. He decided to leave and return to bed. I gave him a disapproving look!
His loss! After the prayer the lead monk addressed the audience, mainly in Japanese, and then we were allowed to go behind the altar and see all the treasures and relics of the temple. There were several exquisite gold statues, old manuscripts and what looked like small urns.
From the prayer room there is a beautiful view of the garden, a view that only the monks have, from the prayer room and their private rooms. It is a garden even more beautiful than the others, with geometric pavement made with black and white pebbles.
I did not take my mobile as I assumed it was rude to do so and therefore I have no photos to show. There were Westerners taking photos though, so make sure you take your phone if you attend one of these morning prayers.
After breakfast off we went to the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula: Ise-Shima region aka Shima Peninsula aka Ise-Shima National Park.
When you stay at a temple you are allowed to join the monks for their morning prayers. It happens in a special room, with a kind of altar with several statues and offerings. The monks recite sutras but they recite in a way that sounds like they are singing. There are bell and drum sounds once and a while. This goes on for more than half an hour. Monks are dressed up with very colourful kimonos, the head monk with a different colour from the others.
We may have been late but we were not the last ones to arrive. There were a lot of people attending the morning prayers and almost all seemed devotees. One by one, every person went on their knees near the altar and prayed. It was very ordered, the Japanese way, starting with the people in front and going all the way back and around till the door. As I said before, it was crowded. A couple of westerners in front of me were bullied into going in front to pray by a Japanese lady that was behind me, She was clearly eagerly waiting her turn but would not jump the queue! When my turn arrived, I just gestured for her to move along and she was happy with that. I'm not a Buddhist, I was just respectfully observing a ritual.
Although my understanding of the ritual is limited if not completely none, it was peaceful, relaxing and pleasant.
Not 20min have passed and Manuel was already bored. He decided to leave and return to bed. I gave him a disapproving look!
His loss! After the prayer the lead monk addressed the audience, mainly in Japanese, and then we were allowed to go behind the altar and see all the treasures and relics of the temple. There were several exquisite gold statues, old manuscripts and what looked like small urns.
From the prayer room there is a beautiful view of the garden, a view that only the monks have, from the prayer room and their private rooms. It is a garden even more beautiful than the others, with geometric pavement made with black and white pebbles.
I did not take my mobile as I assumed it was rude to do so and therefore I have no photos to show. There were Westerners taking photos though, so make sure you take your phone if you attend one of these morning prayers.
After breakfast off we went to the eastern part of the Kii Peninsula: Ise-Shima region aka Shima Peninsula aka Ise-Shima National Park.
It is the home of Japan's most sacred Shinto Shrines, the Ise Shrines, and also has plenty of natural beauty and a rugged coast line.
A big drive this morning so that I could go to Mikimoto Pearl Island in Toba, Shima's east coast. I was expecting Will and Jorge to complaint as it would mean a long ride for them but it was actually Manuel who complaint the most. Manuel being Manuel, a little begging got him to accept my wishes and we got there after a 4h drive.
The Mikimoto Pearl island is a museum about pearls, pearl cultivation and Mikimoto Kokichi, the person who first succeeded in cultivating pearls in 1893. The artificial island is in the bay of Toba and it's accessible via a foot bridge.
Admission fee is not cheap at ¥1500 (£10, €12, $13) but for someone that likes pearls it is worth it. There are leaflets in several languages, one of them Portuguese! I was even more impressed when I realised it was actually well translated!!!
Mikimoto's most famous words are 'I would like to adorn the necks of all women around the world with pearls'. Ohhhh...
Mikimoto Kokichi's statue was built in 1953 and shows 'the Pearl King' holding the imperial award and wearing his trademark Yamataka hat and cape.
Natural pearls are formed by nature, by chance, when the mantle tissue of a pearl is injured by a parasite, an attack of a fish or another event that damages the shell. In response, the mantle secretes nacre (mother of pearl) into the pearl sac that is formed around the parasite or damage. The build up layers of nacre fill the growing sac and will eventually form a pearl of various shapes after a few years. Round natural pearls are virtually non-existent!
Cultured pearls are human creations formed by inserting a nucleous into the mantle tissue of a pearl as if it was the parasite or a damage event and expect the pearl to produce the nacre around that nucleous and form a pearl. As the nucleous inserted in round, the probability of getting a round pearl is higher. As the nucleous is bigger than a parasite, cultured pearls have less layers of nacre, can be produced faster and are therefore cheaper.
Natural pearls are extremely rare and a very expensive luxury item. However, cultured pearls are not as easy to produce as it may seem. Not all of the inserted nucleous will produce pearls. Actually, 50% of oysters will die and therefore will not produce any pearls at all. Of the surviving 50%, 28% produce marketable pearls. Of the 28%, only 5% are high quality pearls and will be sold at the highest prices.
Going up to the second floor of the museum, several pieces of jewellery made with pearls can be seem.
Swan brooch. The body of the swan is a natural pearl.
Mikimoto's five storied pagoda. Made from 12,760 Mikimoto cultured pearls. It was first exhibited in 1926, at the 150th Anniversary of Independence exhibition in Philadelphia.
Photo opportunities are also available:
Female pearl divers aka ama (literally meaning 'sea women') have traditionally been planting and harvesting the oysters from the sea bed. The success of pearl cultivation would not have been possible without them.
Today ama are no longer needed but their importance is commemorated at Mikimoto Pearl Island with hourly performances of ama with their traditional white diving wear.
Museum shop here is called Pearl Plaza. A very posh name! Several pieces of jewellery are on sale, from the cheapest to the very expensive. Manuel bought a brooch for his mum, I bought a pair of earrings and a bracelet for myself. Sorry, mum, money is running out!
Out of Mikimoto Pearl Island and on to see the famous and very sacred Ise Shrines.
It took us a while to get there just because as we were getting to the shrine we took the wrong turn and had to return via route 37 on Mikimoto's direction. There was no way to reverse and no other roads for 10km so we had to keep going. Manuel was quite annoyed and kept telling me to reverse where I couldn't in a very busy road. What the hell, I do not want to have an accident or get a fine!!
We eventually reversed, drove another 10km, arrived at Ise and tried to park close to the shrine. I am not sure how but we managed to drive through Oharaimachi, a pedestrian road nearly 1km long that is the traditional approach to the Inner shrine. We took a side road quickly and drove between people's backyards.
We followed a sign to the shrine and ended up at the shrine's staff parking. That's what we believe it was. It was by the side of a big office lookalike building and no payment machine on sight. There were no parking spaces and one of the roads leading out took us straight into the bridge that marks the entry of the shrine... oh, oh, reversed and left.
Coaches parking. Finally, this must be it! No, we were again driving where we shouldn't! We asked where the parking was and we were shown a huge queue of cars waiting to enter a multi-storey car park. We would have to join the queue for God knows how long and then pay ¥1000 (£6.8, €8, $8.8) for 2h of parking. Ouch!
No, no. Down the road we went and just 300m ahead we found another multi-storey park with free parking spaces costing ¥500 for 2h. Much better! Why were all the other drivers waiting patiently in the queue? Oh, these Japanese...
Oharaimachi is lined with traditional style buildings, housing shops and restaurants. Some of these shops have been serving pilgrims and tourists for several centuries.
It was really good to walk through the streets. It felt like we were inside a samurai movie, in old Japan. It probably has an amazing feel after sunset. Mental note: return and stay in a ryokan in Oharaimachi.
The Ise Shrines (Ise Jingu or just Jingu) are UNESCO World Heritage Sites and consists of 125 jinja (Shinto shrines), centred around the 2 main shrines: Inner Shrine (Kotaijingu or Naiku) and Outer Shrine (Toyokedaijingu or Geku). In land area, Jingu is roughly the same size as the city of Paris. More than 1500 rituals are conducted here yearly to pray for the prosperity of the Imperial Family and the happiness of the world.
Naiku (Inner Shrine) is the most venerable sanctuary in Japan. It is dedicated to Amaterasu-Omikami, the ancestral kami (Shinto deity) of the Imperial Family. She was enshrined in Naiku about 2000 years ago and has been revered as a guardian of Japan.
Geku (Outer Shrine) is dedicated to Toyo'uke-no-Omikami. Some 1500 years ago, this kami (Shinto deity) was summoned and enshrined here. Toyo'uke-no-Omikami joins Amaterasu-Omikami as her provider of companionship, food, housing and clothing.
We decided to see the Inner Shrine first and crossed the Ujibashi bridge. The bridge crosses the Izugawa river and is 100m in length. There is a torii in each side and it marks the entrance to the shrine.
The shrine grounds are surprisingly simple. Gravel-covered walkways and barely-painted wooden structures surrounded by a forest. There are shrines and auxiliary buildings, all in the same architectural style, almost free from Chinese influence as they precede the arrival of Budhism in Japan.
The reason why all buildings look like they have just been constructed is that buildings and bridges in the shrines are actually rebuilt every 20 years according to an ancient Shinto tradition. The ritual is called Shikinen Sengu and the 62nd rebuilding was completed in 2013!
Plenty of visitors in the shrine and it's a weekday! Without the masses it would definitely be a very peaceful place.
The main sanctuary is found at the top of a flight of stone stairs. The Holy Mirror (a symbol of Amaterasu-Omikami) is enshrined inside the main sacred palace at the innermost courtyard and is enclosed with 4 rows of wooden fences. Visitors are only allowed to go behind the outermost fence, where they can worship. Photos are not allowed but I was a bit naughty...
So we walked all this way to see nothing?!? The main shrine can barely be seen behind the fences. No idea if there really is a mirror behind all those doors. Buildings are so simple and similar that there really isn't much difference between them except for the size. Pilgrims are happy to bow in front of a closed door. I guess this is what faith is about...
As tourists we were disappointed. Suffice to say we decided not to go to the Outer Shrine and headed to our accommodation in Ago Bay.
Ago Bay is a scenic, island dotted bay with a rugged coastline located in the southern tip of the Shima Peninsula. The bay is famous for pearl cultivation and many oyster rafts can be seen in the water.
We are staying at Kashikojima Park Hotel Michishio in Kashikojima, the largest island in the bay. An hotel that advertises that all it's rooms have sea view. Indeed, they do, and what a view it is!
From the window we could also see the 2 types of boats that run an hour long sightseeing trip in the bay: a large pirate ship and a smaller boat.
I was expecting Will and Jorge to take a while to arrive. They had even planned the last portion of the ride to coincide with a couple of train stations in case they were too tired and needed to take the train. However, train was not needed and they arrived shortly after us. Good legs!
Plan, as usual, was onsen and dinner.
The hotel's onsen is setup in 2 floors, one for men and the other for women, which rotate every day. Women have the better one today, the 5th floor is above the tree line and as the windows can be opened, the entire bay can be seen. The main bath is by the window which means I spent the time leaning out of the window and appreciating the view whilst soaking in hot water. Bliss!
Manuel wasn't feeling very well today and skipped dinner. Me, Will and Jorge headed out for dinner.
I managed to convince Will and Jorge to find the Yokoyama Observatory deck before dinner. It wasn't easy. I couldn't remember the exact name and did not have my notes on me. Will was hungry and grumpy!
Perched at an altitude of 200m on the slopes of Mount Yokoyama, the observatory provides a panoramic view of Ago Bay. It's worth the detour!
We stopped at an Italian restaurant for another non-Japanese meal. Will tried a bit of Italian but got no reply. In London it is frequent to have Italians working in an Italian restaurant or some Italian is spoken by the staff. Not here though! No Italian and we barely got any English out of the waiter.
Pizza it was this time. Toppings were great but the dough tasted like a warm cream-cracker...
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