Futami

Last month my friend Danielle and I headed over to Ise and Futami to visit the sites there. I had already been to Ise-jingu and the Mikimoto Pearl Island in Toba back in May (pictures here) but it had been rainy that trip and I had missed seeing Futami so I was excited to go again.

Futami is a small town with not much to see except the Meoto Iwa or 夫婦岩. It translates to the Husband and Wife Rocks. These two rocks tied together with a special rope that ways over a ton symbolizes the union of a man and a woman in marriage. The shrine next to it specializes in selling love fortunes, which tell you almost everything but your future mate's name (their blood type, sign, etc.) I didn't buy one because I don't believe in that sort of thing but Danielle did and she had a good time trying to translate it. We'll have to wait and see if it was correct or not! Either way, it was a beautiful shrine and the rocks are gorgeous too. Apparently the best time to go is in the summer at sunrise because the sun appears to rise between the rocks and if you are really lucky (not me!) you can see Mt. Fuji in the distance. I'll settle for this view since it's pretty awesome as it is.