Things to do in Ise

1. Tamaya

   • Ise, Japan
   • Entertainment › Bar

   In the Kawasaki Kaiwai district, this excellent bar-restaurant in an old kura is a friendly spot for a drink or a light meal. It's just down a narrow street off Kawasaki Kaiwai on the left as you walk north (look for a white-and-red sign on a utility pole that reads 'Tamaya The Lounge').

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2. Nikōdōshiten

   • Ise, Japan
   • Restaurants › Japanese

   At Naikū there are plenty of good restaurants in the Okage-yokochō Arcade, just outside the shrine (to find this place, look to your left as you cross Uji-bashi bridge to enter the shrine). In the arcade, Nikōdōshiten is a good place to try some of the local dishes in a rough, roadhouse atmosphere. Ise-udon (thick noodles in a dark broth; small/large bowl ¥450/600) is the speciality. For a bigger meal, try the ume-chiri gohan setto (ise-udon with rice and side dishes; ¥800). The restaurant is 100m up from the southern (shrine) end of the arcade, on the right. There is no English sign; Ichishina, the shop just before it, has an English sign.

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3. Ise-jingū

   • Ise, Japan
   • Sights › Shrine

   Dating back to the 3rd century, Ise-jingū is the most venerated Shintō shrine in Japan. Shintō tradition has dictated for centuries that the shrine buildings be replaced every 20 years, with exact imitations built on adjacent sites according to ancient techniques – no nails, only wooden dowels and interlocking joints.

   Upon completion of the new buildings, the god of the shrine is ritually transferred to its new home in the Sengū No Gi ceremony, first witnessed by Western eyes in 1953. The wood from the old shrine is then used to reconstruct the torii at the shrine's entrance or is sent to shrines around Japan for use in rebuilding their structures. The present…

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4. Daiki

   • Ise, Japan
   • Restaurants › Shokudō

   Our favourite place to eat in Ise-shi bills itself as 'Japan's most famous restaurant'. It's a great place to sample seafood, including ise-ebi (Japanese lobsters), served as set meals for ¥5000; ask for the ise-ebi teishoku and specify yaki (grilled), niita (boiled) or sashimi (raw). Simpler meals include tempura teishoku (¥1500). It's outside and to the right of Uji-Yamada Station (walk past the Toyota Rentacar lot); there's a small English sign reading 'Kappo Daiki' and 'Royal Family Endorsed'.

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