Oharaimachi is a pleasant 800 meter long pedestrian street which leads the way to the Inner Shrine. The street is lined with dozens of old style wooden buildings housing traditional souvenir shops, tea houses and restaurants, some of which have been serving pilgrims for centuries. At the heart of Oharaimachi lies the Okage Yokocho, an area which successfully replicates the atmosphere of a typical Japanese town in the Edo period, when pilgrimage to Ise was very popular.
The Mikimoto Pearl island is a small and picturesque island connected to the Toba bay by an elevated bridge, which essentially houses a museum about pearls centered in the figure of Mikimoto Kokichi, the first man who succeeded in producing cultivated pearls in 1893.
Aside from the museum, which contains detailed explanations about the pearl cultivation process, a treasure exhibition and a pearl shop, Mikimoto Pearl Island also offers visitors hourly performances of female pearl divers known as Ama. Women were traditionally in charge of planting and harvesting oysters and, even if nowadays diving is not required anymore, the original gear and technique are used in this demonstrations in order to commemorate their important role in pearl cultivation.
JR Nagoya Station
JR Rapid Mie
90 min.
1940¥
Iseshi Station
Kintetsu Nagoya Station
Kintetsu Ltd. Express
80 min.
1410¥
Iseshi Station
Geku can be reached on a 5 minute walk from Iseshi station, whereas Naiku and Oharaimachi are located a few km away from Geku and can be reached on a 15min bus ride or a 10 minute taxi ride.
Mikimoto Pearl Island is a short walk from Toba station, which can be reached on a 15min train ride from Iseshi station.