Skyliner | Review by Holly

Before coming to Ise, I thought Okage Yokocho was just a more polished, beautifully maintained old street. After walking around, I realized I had thought of it too simply. It’s actually a whole collection of Ise’s local culture. What’s really impressive is how so many long-established local shops and specialties from Ise and Mie are gathered together here. Besides the most famous one, Akafuku, you can also find local Ise wagashi, rice cakes, seafood, soy sauce, sake, Ise beef, and more. It’s really easy to just keep eating your way down the street.

I also realized that Akafuku has become famous to an almost unbelievable degree. You don’t have to eat Akafuku at their own store. If you look around a little, you’ll find other shops nearby that also sell it, so you don’t necessarily have to squeeze into the main store. That’s honestly pretty incredible.

But what actually impressed me most was how the entire neighborhood maintains its “old street atmosphere.” It’s not just the restaurants and souvenir shops that have retro-style facades. Even modern facilities like banks and the post office make an effort to blend into the streetscape. This includes Hyakugo Bank, Sanju-San Bank, and Isuzugawa Post Office. If their signs weren’t hanging out front, it would be easy to walk by and think they were just another unique little shop. I found details like this really interesting.

Since not every shop here has indoor seating, there are actually quite a few places around the neighborhood where you can sit down to eat and rest, so you don’t have to eat while walking the whole time. Dango-ro Chaya, for example, continues the old concept of the “koshikake chaya” along Ise pilgrimage routes, where tired pilgrims could sit down and rest.

There are also plenty of cute cartoon characters and maneki-neko elements, which reminded me a little of how I felt while exploring Kurashiki, although the styles of the two places are still very different. In recent years, there has also been a “shop cats” event here, with different maneki-neko placed at each shop for visitors to look for as they walk around. Cat lovers can really take their time searching for them.

I originally thought that since most of the things here involved food, a little over an hour would be plenty. But once I actually started exploring, that wasn’t the case at all. The shops are packed closely together, there’s too much to eat, and I also wanted to take photos and look at the old buildings. In the end, because I had more plans afterward, I had to rush through everything. I actually only saw part of the area, and there were still many places farther along that I didn’t reach at all. So if you really want to enjoy this area at a relaxed pace, I’d recommend setting aside at least two to three hours so you don’t leave with any regrets.

Every time I visit Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, my main reason is the Tenjin Market held on the 25th of each month. If you like kimono, vintage clothing, or kimono accessories, I personally really recommend checking it out. Kyoto has quite a few antique markets, but based on my experience visiting several times, this one has an especially large number of kimono-related stalls. They carry everything from kimono, haori, and obi to obijime and all kinds of kimono accessories, with a very wide selection. Some undergarments and consumable items are even sold new, and the prices are much lower than in stores. For people who are genuinely interested in kimono, this is a great place to hunt for treasures.

The Tenjin Market itself is huge. Besides kimono, there are antiques, old tools, tableware, miscellaneous goods, plants, and all kinds of snacks. The food stalls are mainly concentrated around the main gate. There aren’t many of them, and they’re pretty ordinary, but they’re just there to fill your stomach and give you some energy, so the taste isn’t that important. It’s easy to lose track of time while browsing here. Especially if your main goal is to buy kimono, I recommend coming early because the good items really do get picked out quickly.

Although the market mainly operates in cash, on my later visits I noticed that some stalls had started accepting credit cards. I usually skip the stalls that accept cards, since they mainly sell antiques and similar items, so I assume they offer card payments because the transaction amounts can be quite high. But if you do find something you really want, being able to pay by card is quite convenient, since it’s hard to carry that much cash with you.

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine itself is also well worth visiting. I’ve been here many times, and it feels a little different each time. If you come in February, you can enjoy the plum blossoms while visiting the Tenjin Market. If you happen to come on the 25th, you can also attend the Plum Blossom Festival. In addition to the festival, there is also a grand outdoor tea ceremony served by geiko and maiko from Kyoto’s Kamishichiken district, held among the blooming plum trees. During the Setsubun Festival in early February, geiko and maiko from the Kamishichiken Kabukai also perform a Japanese dance offering at the Kagura Hall. If you want to experience Kyoto’s traditional performing arts, all of these events have their own distinctive character.

I also visited once in April. The cherry blossom season was already nearing its end, so I wasn’t expecting much, but I was very lucky and happened to see a shower of falling cherry blossoms. It was incredibly romantic and ended up becoming one of my strongest memories of Kitano Tenmangu Shrine. After visiting Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, you can continue on to Hirano Shrine, which is also one of Kyoto’s well-known cherry blossom viewing spots. The two places work very well together in one itinerary.

I recommend visiting Tsukiji Outer Market together with Tsukiji Hongwanji, since the two are very close to each other. You can visit Hongwanji first and then walk over to the outer market. Tsukiji Hongwanji itself is quite distinctive, so you can look at the architecture first and then head to the market to eat. It makes for a very smooth itinerary.

If you're visiting Tsukiji, I recommend not arriving too late. When I got there a little after 9:00, I could already clearly feel large numbers of tourists pouring in, and the market was quite lively. In particular, quite a few people were pulling luggage around with them. I personally don't really recommend doing that, because the market aisles aren't very wide to begin with, and once it gets crowded, large pieces of luggage really take up a lot of space.

Because I didn't stay very long this time, I wasn't able to fully explore all the food in the market. I just picked a few tamagoyaki shops to try. Once again, it proved that my stomach prefers Kanto-style tamagoyaki, and I had a very enjoyable time eating my way through them.

Although seafood is the first thing many people think of when visiting Tsukiji, once you actually walk into the outer market, you'll find so many choices that it can be a little overwhelming. In addition to fresh fish, sushi, and seafood bowls, there are also tamagoyaki, dried goods, fruits and vegetables, meat, and more. Although the main market has moved to Toyosu, even a skinny camel is still bigger than a horse, and the location is convenient, so there are still many shops operating here. If it's your first visit, I actually recommend looking up several places you genuinely want to try beforehand. There are simply too many choices, and with the crowds, it's easy to see one place you want to try and then another, until you end up not knowing what to eat at all.

Also keep in mind that Tsukiji isn't simply a tourist food street. It's a district of specialty shops that developed out of a working market, so it's better not to eat while walking.