Ise

Ise (Ise-shi), formerly called Ujiyamada is a city located in eastern Mie Prefecture, on the island of Honshū, Japan. Ise is home to Ise Grand Shrine, the most sacred Shintō Shrine in Japan, and is thus a very popular destination for tourists. The city has a long-standing nickname — Shinto — that roughly means "The Holy City" and literally means "Capital of the Kami"). It is part of Ise-Shima National Park.

Ise is easily accessible by rail due to the popularity of Ise Grand Shrine as a tourist attraction. Kintetsu offers direct service to Ise from both Osaka and Nagoya in the form of regular express trains and limited express trains, the latter of which are especially popular among travelers. The ride from Osaka takes about 135 minutes, the ride from Nagoya takes about 100 minutes.

Kintetsu is the best railway option for getting to Ise. The other option is JR Central, which offers direct service to Ise from Nagoya once an hour on the Mie Rapid, which takes about 90 minutes. Sanco used to manage a street car that transported people around Ise, in particular a line called the "Shinto Line" that ran from Ise-shi Station to the Inner Shrine. It was closed in 1961 and replaced by buses.

Ise Grand Shrine is sometimes called "The Shrine of the shrines" to indicate its status as the most sacred Shintō shrine. Legend has it that Yata no Kagami, one of the Three Sacred Treasures of Japan, is housed somewhere within the grounds. The entire Shrine is completely rebuilt from scratch every 20 years using fresh lumber that is brought to Ise and then ceremonially carried through the streets on its way to the Shrine during an okihiki. The Shrine is in its 61st reconstruction, meaning this tradition has been carried out for at least 1,220 years. The next reconstruction will be in 2013.