Sea Change Okinawa: Shrine

Futenma Shrine - Okinawa

Recently, i've been feeling super restless and in desperate need of a holiday. Island fever is a real thing, I tell you! Anyway we don't really have any holidays planned and all the national holidays so far this year seem to have fallen on weekends, so I finally took matters into my own hands and took a leave day to get out of my rut and go on some solo adventures!

The main place I wanted to go to was Futenma Shrine. If you've travelled in mainland Japan, you would know there are temples and shrines EVERYWHERE! This is not the case in Okinawa. Last year I finally visited my first shrine in Okinawa, when we stopped in at Naminoue Shrine when we were in Naha, and after seeing some photos a friend took of Futenma shrine, I knew I needed to make the trip to see it.

The Futenma Shrine is one of the major shinto shrines in Okinawa and it is definitely worth a visit. The thing I really loved about it is how, even though it is a traditional shinto shrine, it definitely looks quite "Okinawan" to me, with the terracotta coloured roof tiles, and the Okinawan trees surrounding it.

You should enter the shrine through the Torii gate at the front, and after walking up the stairs, go to the "purification fountain" to wash your hands. If you are unsure what to do, there is a pictorial instruction you can follow. Once you have washed your hands, you can walk up to the main hall and pray if you wish. I've heard 5 is a sucky number, so 5 and 50 yen pieces are good to use. Be sure to be quiet though, as this is a place of worship, and you should respect people there who may be meditating, praying etc.

There is a little shop selling ema boards (you can write your wish on), fortunes and other charms if you wish to purchase these. Stupidly I didn't do my research before visiting, because I didn't know there were caves attached to this temple that you can enter. You simply need at ask the people at the temple, who will take you in to see them. I'll be sure to do this next time!

To make the most of your visit, there is actually a buddhist temple, Jingu-ji next door. It's also quite pretty and worth looking around.

Entrance to the Shrine

You can tie your bad fortune to this

Wooden ema you can write your wishes on

Futenma Shrine is located in Futenma, Ginowan, and easy to get to from the Kitanakagusuku exit of the Okinawa Expressway. You can find a map and more information here

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Futenma Shrine is one of the most important shinto shrines in Okinawa. It's lovely teracotta colours make it look very Okinawan and different to what you would usually see on the mainland Japan

21:14
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Naminoue Shrine - Naha Okinawa

Naha

This past weekend we booked ourselves a last minute and much needed staycation in Naha. Naminoue Shrine has been somewhere I have wanted to visit since I moved to Okinawa, and it wasn't until now that I finally got to visit.

Naminoue Shrine, sits atop a rock (mountain? I'm not sure what it's called) overlooking Naminoue Beach in Naha. It is the most important Shinto Shrine in Okinawa, and as temples and shrines seem to be much more scarce in Okinawa than on mainland Japan, I was excited to visit. The temple complex itself isn't actually very big, but it's very pretty, and when we visited there was some kind of ceremony happening, which was interesting to watch.

I really loved how, although the temple itself looked typical of most shinto shrines I have seen in Japan, it was surrounded by palm trees and other lush, distinctly Okinawan trees, that gave the whole place a bit of a tropical vibe.

After visiting the shrine, we walked down to the beach below because you can get a glimpse of the shrine atop the mountain as well as go for a swim or just dip your feet in the amazingly blue water.

Torii gate leading up to Naminoue Shrine, Naha Okinawa

Torii gate at the entrance to the Shrine

Main building of the shrine

I love the palm trees

Amazing tree makes this shrine feel very Okinawan

Palm trees surrounding the Naminoue Shrine in Naha, Okinawa, give it a tropical feel in an otherwise typical Japanese Shinto Shrine

View of the shrine from the beach

View of the harbour from the Shrine

Naminoue Shrine is actually quite close to Naha airport, so could be easily visited on your way to or from the airport, as well as Tomari Port. Access information can be found here.

17:09
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Tokyo Travel with a child Part 3!

restaurants

Our second full day in Tokyo, we decided to take it easy. The last time we took the little guy on a trip to Kyoto and Osaka, I tried to fit too much into a day, which ended up more exhausting and stressful than it needed to be. This time was much better. Since we were staying in Harajuku, after our Dominique Ansel breakfast we walked up to the Meiji Jingu Shrine, which is right next to JR Harajuku station. There were a heap of weddings happening there, which was great, because I love looking at the brides in their beautiful traditional wedding outfits. We bought a wood block and wrote a family wish and hung it up. It was a lovely time.

After a rest back at the apartment, we decided to head out in search of some mexican food (mostly some frozen margheritas). We found this awesome little place in the back streets of Harajuku called Chiles, and settled in. The frozen strawberry margheritas were exactly the kind of holiday drink we were after, and the food was delish too! Griff loved their kids plate, which had a ham and cheese quesadilla, beans, rice and condiments. It had a great selection of vegetarian options as well!

We ended the day with a lovely dinner with my friend Yuko, who I haven't seen in over a year. All in all, it was such a great trip. And the thing that I love about Tokyo, is no matter how many times I visit, I never ever get bored of it.

Meiji Jingu Torii

There were many weddings going on this day. This was just one!

We made a family wish and hung it.

I love the old school tools they use to keep the grounds clean.

Mmmmmm Mexican

17:30
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More temples in Fukuoka

Fukuoka

In my half day in Fukuoka, I actually crammed in quite a bit of sightseeing, although it didn't seem rushed, and I was impressed with how much I saw. Especially seeing as I was also tempted to just go shopping, but decided instead on the shrines and temples.

After Sumiyoshi Jinja, we stumbled across Rakusuien Garden, a traditional Japanese garden, only about 10 minutes walk from Hakata station. It was lovely and quiet, right in the centre of the city and only 100 yen to enter.

Entrance to Rakusuien Gardens

I love Japanese Maple leaves

Koi looking for food

Peaceful

After walking around the garden we got to sit in a tatami room overlooking the gardens

After the garden, we walked over to the Gion area and went to Shofukuji Temple, and discovered some other temples near that as well. Basically the whole afternoon was filled with temples and shrines.

Shofukuji Temple

I loved the detail in the wood building

This was a private area we couldn't enter, but I loved the zen garden

After Shofukuji, we could see a gorgeous looking red pagoda nearby and followed it to find Tochoji temple. The grounds here were lovely, and it all looked fairly new/well kept. I was really surprised by how close everything was in Fukuoka, making it a really walkable city. Actually it would be the perfect place to rent a bike and ride around because it is all really compact and flat.

Tochoji Temple

City skyline over the temple grounds

The weather was hot and clear. Hard to believe a typhoon was about to hit the next day cancelling all ways out of Fukuoka.

16:52
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Sumiyoshi Shrine Fukuoka

Fukuoka

This week I am on a trip for work which is taking me from Fukuoka, in Kyushu at the south of the mainland, right up to Hokkaido, and the top, with stops in Osaka and Tokyo in between.

We arrived in Fukuoka yesterday, just beating the typhoon out of Okinawa, and were lucky enough to get the afternoon free to explore. I've never been to Fukuoka before so I tried to cram in as much as possible. What I wanted to do the most was visit some shrines and temples, because there aren't really any in Okinawa, and they are one of the things I miss the most about mainland Japan.

First stop was Sumiyoshi Jinja (shrine), which was chosen mostly because it was only a short walk from my hotel. Sumiyoshi Jinja is a Shinto Shrine, in the Hakata area of the city. It was really lovely, and even though it was really hot out, as soon as walking into the shrine grounds, everything seemed much cooler than the rest of the city.