Weekend of Shrines! Tsubaki Grand Shrine & Ise Grand Shrine

Never thought I would say this Japan, but I wish I had a car this time. The shrine that I wanted to visit is at most 40 min drive from Nagoya, but by public transit and it took at least 2:30 hrs on way. Not to mention that bus departs from the shrine only once every 2 hours. (And yes, I was running for that returning bus without having time to screw on my water jar or put away my brushes) 

Tsubaki Grand Shrine (Tsubaki Ookami Yashiro)

Location: Suzuka, Mie Prefecture

The was already a guy sitting in front of the main shrine and painting when I arrived by bus at ~11am. I sort of camped myself behind the Torii gate to get away from the sun and to draw in the huge trees leading the way to the shrine. I think everyone who passed by assumed that the other guy and I know each other (one even went as far as to ask the other guy if he knows me lol, I think he might be a little creeped out seeing that he's being secretly observed from behind) For a long weekend, the shrine did not have as many visitors as I would imagined (meaning I don't need to fight for a place to stand unlike in most Kyoto shrines haha) The staffs also said hi to us on their way in and out.

The stone stairs and statues were interesting against the light, so I did a full piece on the side shrine.

There was a small shrine on top of the hill behind the main shrine, but unfortunately I did not find a good view on it (most of the overlook was covered by foliages...) I also lost my Suica card of 10 years while hiking up the stairs to the shrine... (I was probably taking out my phone while it slipped out of my back pocket) Attempting search for the card, I also hiked up the stairs up and down a second time. The consequence was my limping on my way to work for the next week while my muscles recuperate from the unexpected hard labour. Aaanway, I found the above nice scene while strolling around the small town next to the shrine. It was a small tea plant at the foot of the mountain. You could see how rushed I was from the messed up perspective on the right ;A; And to be honest, I finished up most of the painting after getting back to Nagoya because I had to run for the bus half way through it... Priorities, lol

Ise Grand Shrine (Ise Jingu)

Location: Ise, Mie Prefecture

I went on to visit Ise Shrine the last day (Monday) of the long weekend. Unfortunately I only had time to swing by the outer shrine before I need to go back to work in the afternoon... Anyhow, it was enough time to squeeze two drawings in and get a decent lunch!

After hearing about the horror stories of the crowds at Ise Shrine, I was pleasantly surprised by the general lack of people in the outer shrine (granted it was still much more crowded than Tsubaki) The most interesting thing was definitely the white curtain that hangs in the centre of the shrines, so that when the wind blows through it, people could catch a quick glimpse of the inside (where the deities reside) But more over, the motion of the curtain gives an impression that there is some unseen force behind it.

A close-up of one the shrines in the outer area. More the scenery itself, I clearly remember the cicadas screaming in the woods behind me. Until now I didn't know that they could start and stop in waves. Usually one or two starts, then the chorus builds up in a matter of seconds, completely drowning any surrounding sounds. I couldn't remember how long each waves lasted, but when they fade out in a matter of seconds, it also felt like an awkward silence has befallen the shrine lol

Anyhow, after seeing the unique style of the Ise Shrine buildings on Begin Japanology, I definitely wanted to capture at least one of those unique rooftops. So, mission accomplished!