A half day visit to the Atsuta ward which is located at the southern part of the Nagoya City. We went to Japan’s second most respected Shinto shrine, Atsuta Jingu and the old vestige pier, Shichiri-no-Watashi which is now a park where the locals and tourists can have a short walk or rest.
Atsuta Shrine
Atsuta Shrine is one of Shinto’s most important shrines in Japan that dates back over 2,000 years and the second most respectable Shinto shrine after the Great Shrine of Ise. The shrine is home to the sacred sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, it is one of the Three Imperial Regalia of Japan. However, the sword is not available for the public to see it.
Where?
Operating Hour:
The Treasure Hall
9:00~16:30 (Entrance close at 16:10)
**Final Wednesday and following day of each month / December 25 ~ 31
Shrine
24/7
Cost?
The Treasure Hall
Adults: 300JPY
How to get there?
Alight at Jingu-Mae station.
Follow the sign as shown:
You need to cross the road and you will be able to see this entrance:
The shrine
Atsuta Jingu
Amulet Office
Atsuta Shrine Motomiya
The Third Torii (Shrine gate)
Bunka-Den (Treasure Exhibition Hall)
The Second Torii
Nijugocho-Bashi Bridge
Along the way towards the Kamichikama Shrine, we saw this 2 rooster roaming around freely, which is an interesting sight for us.
Kamichikama Shrine
The First Torii
Overall:
The Atsuta shrine is beautiful, simple and should be one of the must-visit attraction if you are in Nagoya. Interestingly, we actually start from the back of the shrine (third torii gate) to the head (first torii gate), however, as a tourist I think it does not matter since we are able to visit the main attraction first and slowly explore around the shrine.
Miya-no-Watashi Park (Shichiri-no-Watashi)
The Miya-no-Watashi Park is the last remaining replica of Old Tokaido Route largest station, Miya Juku and the pier where ships will bring the travellers to Kuwana Juku which is the current Kuwana City in Mie Prefecture crossing through the Ise Bay named as the Shichiri-no-Watashi.
Where?
Operating hour
24/7
Cost?
Free
What to see?
The history of the pier
The resting area
The night light for the boat in the past
Bell of Time
View from the pier
Overall
We had a short rest here, the view is great, you can see the town and river co-exist. There are not many people around except for the local walking and cycling around the park. If you are not in a hurry or without any planned itinerary, can consider spending your time to walk around this area. We even went over the bridge to the town to explore around the residential area, where there is a large pharmacy store, a row of small shophouses and some local restaurants.