Family Fun Day Riding a New Way of Sightseeing in Futami,Ise City

Today we headed to one of my favorite places in Mie Prefecture, Ise City. Why do I like this place so much? It’s simple, Ise City is home to the most important Shinto Shrine in Japan, Ise Jingu. Every time I come to Ise City, I can feel its great energy.
However, we didn’t come to Ise City to pray, we came to experience something new, to go sightseeing riding a three wheeled motor vehicle, better known as a tuk tuk. Once again, when asked if I wanted to do this, I did not consult my husband or my son, I said “yes” right away.
My name is Isis Akemi Muto, from Sao Paulo, Brazil. I’ve been living in Mie Prefecture, Japan, for the past 22 years. Recently, my family and I started doing some day-trips around Mie.

The shrine is called FutamiOkitama shrine, and it venerates the Meoto Iwa, also known as Wedded Rocks. Since it is said that the wedded rocks represent the god Izanagi and the goddess Izanami, the central “kami” (deities) in the Japanese creation myth. Many couples come to this shrine to pray for their marriage or to be blessed in finding a good partner.

The shimenawa tied between the two rocks is very fantastic,so no matter how many times I come to Meoto Iwa, I can’t help but grab my camera and start snapping pictures.

Don’t be surprised if you come this shrine and see many frog statues. I was surprised the 1st time I came, so I did some research and learned that Japanese people love all kinds of living beings, and some are sacred to the population. Here in Futami, the frog is the star! But why the frog?! Frogs were the messengers of the Sarutahiko Okami. Also, in Japanese, frog is called “kaeru” which also means return, so Futamiokitama Shrine is also known to be the shrine of lost things and people, therefore, those coming to this shrine, pray so that they can find the thing or person they have lost. If you lost something, why don’t you come to Futami Okitama Shrine to pray for it? Maybe you will be blessed and find it.

Futami Okitama Shrine
https://futamiokitamajinja.or.jp/
TEL:0596-43-2020

After that,we went to a restaurant called Taichi-ya near the shrine. Taichi-ya has been open for more than 100 years. It has a simple and unique decoration. This is the type of restaurant where you feel truly relaxed.

At this restaurant, we ate the Ise udon. What makes it so special? Ise udon is known for its thick and being soft, and it sure was the softest udon I’ve ever had in my life. The nice couple that runs the restaurant told us that in the past　 there were many visitors to the shrine, and the udon had to be served quickly, so the udon became soft and it has less soup. It feels like it melts inside your mouth. We ordered the shellfish mixed rice set which has the soft udon included. I was told that shellfish mixed rice was also a specialty of Futami in the past. It was a cold day, but we had a warm and delicious lunch.　Everything was so delicious.

Taichiya
https://tabelog.com/mie/A2403/A240301/24004237/　

After finishing our lunch, we headed to our last destination, a souvenir shop where we were going to have one more new experience, painting Futami’s dearest mascot, the frog! This store is called Taiyodo.

This store is so cute! Frogs everywhere! Plates, bags, coin purses, etc, with frog design. Be ready to spend hours here choosing an “omiyage” (gift) for your family and friends. It took me a long time to just admire the frog’s cute designs.

At Taiyoudo store, we experienced painting a ceramic frog for the 1st time. It was fun doing something like this with my husband and my son, while listening to the staff’s stories. Here, you can put your imagination to work. My husband chose to paint a frog with our country’s flag colors, green and yellow. I chose a more delicate color and made my frog female wearing make-up and everything. And my son wanted one with a lighter color.

These frogs are hollow inside, so after drawing a picture, you can put a card inside.

We wrote our wishes on a piece of paper given to us by the staff and put them inside the frogs.

“Taiyoudo”
https://taiyoudou.shopinfo.jp/

We finished our sightseeing in Futami and headed back to Tavizo. Before arriving at Tavizo though, we passed through a vast rice field area and although during this period the plantation is dry, it was still beautiful to pass through it, and of course, we stopped to take cool pictures!

Riding the tuk tuk was a really great experience, and the three of us had so much fun! I will try to ride it again when the weather is warmer. Sightseeing on a tuk tuk during spring and autumn must be so fascinating too.

Now we have at our home Futami’s dearest frogs. And with them, we are sending you a message. Come to Futami, have a great time and come back again, as many times as you want, because I’m sure you will always have something new to do here, and you will always have a great time here as well.

EV tuk tuk Rental“Tavizo”

https://tavizo.jp/ise-puchitabi

TEL：0596-29-1700

Tourist attractions covered by this article