Finish your worship at the Naiku, cross back over the Uji Bridge, and a lively townscape stretches before you. This is Oharai-machi, with Okage Yokocho opening off its midpoint. Here you can enjoy Ise's distinctive food, souvenirs, and the energy of its people — a place to visit hand in hand with your shrine pilgrimage.

Oharai-machi

Oharai-machi is a stone-paved approach street (gate town) running about 800 meters from the Uji Bridge. Traditional gable-fronted townhouses line the street, preserving the atmosphere of the Edo-period "Okage-mairi" pilgrimages that once filled it with crowds. Stroll slowly, sampling food and browsing for souvenirs.

Okage Yokocho

Okage Yokocho is a quarter opened in 1993 in the middle of Oharai-machi. Recreating the townscape of the Ise road from the Edo through Meiji eras, it gathers restaurants and shops on a site that covered roughly 2,700 tsubo (about 9,000 square meters) at its opening and has since been expanded even further. The name is said to carry two meanings: the "Okage-mairi" pilgrimage, and gratitude ("okage") for generations of continued trade.

The Akafuku main shop and the Tsuitachi-mochi sales are also found here in Oharai-machi and Okage Yokocho. Stop by after an early-morning Tsuitachi-mairi and you can savor a special moment: the still-quiet streets and freshly made Tsuitachi-mochi. Take your time and enjoy both the worship and the town.