Ise-Jingu is Japan's most important Shinto shrine complex, split between the Outer Shrine (Geku) and the Inner Shrine (Naiku), which is dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu and considered the spiritual home of Shinto. The shrine buildings are rebuilt on an identical adjacent site every 20 years under a practice called shikinen sengu, so what you see is always relatively new wood even though the tradition itself is ancient. The walk to the Naiku's inner sanctuary through cedar forest, crossing the Ujibashi bridge over the Isuzu River, is as much the experience as the shrine itself.
| Distance | 130 km south of Nagoya |
|---|---|
| Travel time | 1 hr 30 min by Kintetsu Limited Express |
| Getting there | Kintetsu Nagoya to Iseshi Station — Limited Express (¥2,880 / ~$19.30 return; 1h30min each way); or JR Rapid Mie (slower, JR Pass valid) |
| Address | Ise Jingu Naiku (Inner Shrine), 1 Ujitachi-cho, Ise, Mie 516-0023 |
How to get there
- Kintetsu Limited Express (fastest; reserved seat ¥510 / $3.42 supplement)
- JR Rapid Mie from Nagoya (1h45min; JR Pass valid)
Location
Ise Jingu Naiku (Inner Shrine), 1 Ujitachi-cho, Ise, Mie 516-0023
34.4554, 136.7252 View on map
Highlights
- Naiku (Inner Shrine) — the holiest site in Shinto, reached by crossing the wooden Ujibashi bridge and walking through old cedar forest
- Geku (Outer Shrine) — dedicated to the deity of food and agriculture, usually visited before Naiku by tradition
- Okage Yokocho — a reconstructed Edo-period street next to the Naiku entrance, dense with food stalls and shops
- Ujibashi bridge — the wooden bridge marking the boundary between the ordinary world and the shrine precinct