Atsuta Jingu

Atsuta Jingu is one of the most famous shrine in Japan. It is in Nagoya city but I haven't visited this place before. My friend visit Nagoya and so we went there together. Actually, our first aim to go to Atsuta is to eat Hitsumabushi. "Hitsu" means a wooden container of rice. And "Mabushi" means...? I am not sure. In some region (such as Kansai district) they call it also "Mamushi". I guess its origin is "Mammeshi" which means rice with eel. Yes, Histumabushi is rice with grilled eel on top.

A set of Hitsumabushi lunch! by Atsuta Houraiken

 There are three steps to eat this Histumabushi. 1st, Eat rice and eel simply. 2nd, Eat rice and eel with spices. 3rd Eat rice, eel and spice with hot soup called "Dashi".　Dashi is soup of fish or seaweed (In red pot of the photo above), often used for Japanese cuisine.

Next step is to visit the shrine. I was impressed with a gate of Atsuta Jingu because it was very big but not too shiny.

The gate (Torii) of Atsuta Jingu

With some woods around, it looked literally awesome. Especially,it looked nice on such pleasant day.

Hongu (Principle palace) of Atsuta Jingu

Here is a Hongu which means a principle palace. We pray just at the entrance of Hongu but we couldn't enter inside.

The entrance of Hongu where people bow and pray

We crap hands twice and bow. Then we pray putting hands together for a while. I am not religious person but I like this moment because I can be very quiet and calm. I often think about my family and someone who is very precious for me but not together right at the moment. I hope my wish reaches to the god and good things come true.

Inside of Hongu entrance

We cannot enter inside of Hongu. This makes us to feel the god of Hongu is so sacred. I imagine what is inside while it stays mysterious forever like this...

Ume (plum) tree with a lot of flowers.

Spring is the best season in Japan (I think). We can enjoy seeing flowers. It was too early to see cherry blossoms but we could enjoy plum flowers. I prefer plum as a symbol of my elementary school was plum. Plum is called "Ume" in Japan. Ume stays in cold weather during the winter and when the spring comes, they start to bloom at once. So with such cold winter, Ume can be beautiful. That was a way of teaching how to endure hard occasion to Japanese elementary students... When I was a child, I am honestly impressed with this story. I started to like Ume. In fact, the aroma of Ume is much better and stronger than cherry blossoms.

We see a couple just married by accident. They looked very happy and beautiful in the spring sunshine!

Just married couple

Then, at last... Sweets! This is a Japanese parfait with Marcha (green tea) ice cream, Dango (rice cake with a stick) and Anko (red bean paste). Also, there were some grains of rice at the bottom.

Dango parfait in Osu.

We had moved to Osu town in the center of Nagoya city from Atsuta. In Osu area, we can find many sweets shops and funny stores. It is very fun to walk around. I think Nagoyan (people in Nagoya) like Japanese sweets. I could find many sweets shops not only in Osu area but all over Nagoya.

Oh, I will stay in Nagoya only two weeks more. Next destination is not a bad place, but maybe I will miss Nagoya a little bit. A reason is... yes... Japanese sweets!

Shrine in the city

Today,  it was sunny even though it is rainy season in Japan. So, I decided to explore the city center of Nagoya. I left my home and walked to the nearest subway station, and took the subway to the station called "Yabasho". I was thinking to go to the cafe which is introduced in the tourist guide book of Nagoya. On the way, I received the phone call from my boyfriend in Hawaii. I can't talk over the phone in the subway. And then, I called back him at the shrine called "Wakamiya Hachiman Gu". There are many shrines in Japan and normally it is very quiet. That's why I started to talk with him by phone around the gate of shrine.

The gate of "Wakamiya Hachiman Gu"

The gate of Japanese shrine is called "Tori'i". You can maybe find it in Japanese garden somewhere in the world. People call the garden as "Zen Garden". However, "Zen" is one group or type of Buddhism and this gate (Tori'i) is one of Japanese original religion "Shintoism". So two of them are different!

Some other Tori'i gates in Wakamiya Hachiman Gu

There are many Tori'is in this shrine. It is interesting that some big shrine includes small shrines in their land. In general, they have many trees. So it is cool during the summer and it seems nice to take a break. However, you have to be very careful with mosquitoes. I was bitten several places by mosquitoes while I was talking (around 30 minutes). 

Main building of Wakamiya Hachiman Gu

 I was concerned that the god here would feel bad if I stay here and talk for a while without saying  hello to him/her. Therefore, I prayed at the main building before calling. It is like saying "hello" to the god here.

 Later, I went to the cafe near this shrine. It is introduced in the guide. I thought it might be very good cafe. However, I felt it is fine but not so so good. The taste of the food was moderate and the building was old. There were an air conditioner in the cafe making much wind because the building was old and the heat of cooking stays in the room. It was necessary to have such strong machine. For me, strong wind coming to my head directly and it was not so comfortable. Some people may think that "it is a cozy cafe in an old beautiful building". For me... hmmm difficult.

I started to read a book about psychology in the cafe. I became feeling like to read more and more... So I went to the book shop and bought the book about counseling. I am not counselor, while I guess the method for listening to someone's talk will be helpful for my professional and private life. I was happy to find a book which seems interesting. I also found the book about "Ho'oponopono". Ho'oponopono is a Hawaiian word means "practice of reconciliation and forgiveness". The book was close to the book of psychology. Hmmm, it might be interesting to read about Ho'oponopono. So I decided to buy one of the book about it next time. (It seems my mind is still in Hawaii even I am in Nagoya now).

Nagoya and Hawaii

I moved to Nagoya, Japan on May 29th. I organized inside my apartment which is much smaller than the apartment in Hawaii. I can't have a good view from the window. I don't have a big balcony. However, it is fine because I feel safe even without a security of the building. This is an amazing point of our country!

Today, I visited Nagoya Hawai'i Festival today. It was cloudy. In spite of such unpleasant weather, many people were enjoying this festival. I was thinking a reason why I visited this festival... I think I miss Hawaii even though I didn't really like to live in Honolulu. It's surprising for me to miss Hawaii!

I found several things which I liked in Hawaii.

Matsumoto Shave Ice from Haleiwa

When I visited Haleiwa with my friends, we bought some goods at Matsumoto shave ice. Shave ice is called "Kakigori (カキ氷)" in Japanese and I guess Hawaiian shave ice is imported to Hawaii by immigrants from Japan. "Matsumoto" is Japanese family name.

Garlic shrimp

I like several things among Hawaiian cuisine. One of them is this, Garlic shrimp! Whenever I went North shore in Oahu, I ate garlic shrimps. Also, I got garlic shrimp from the International Market place in Waikiki from time to time. I liked Blue Water's garlic shrimp. I also tried to cook myself. The secret of this taste is... Tomato! (just a little bit). I didn't eat garlic shrimp today, but I know it is delicious.

Hall for Hula concert and shops (Oasis 21)

 Not only foods, but also Hula dance attracted many people. Look, how many people were gathering in the hall! At that time, there were invited dancers from Hawaii performed Hula.

Hula dance of Hawaiian dancer

In Honolulu, I often saw "Hawaiian" dancers. However, it is very rare to see them here in Nagoya. That's why many people pay attention to their dance. The enthusiasm for Hula of people in Nagoya is amazing!! Actually, there are many Hula schools in Nagoya. It is very interesting because I didn't find any Hula school in Europe. Japanese likes Hawaii very much in general.

the Gallery of Heather Brown

I also found the interesting thing. Do you know Heather Brown? She is an artist living in Hawaii, but she is not Hawaiian. She is from mainland of United States. It was a bit weird to have a gallery only for her. There are many local artists in Hawaii and I like their works. However, masterpieces of others are not introduced here. I guess it is because Japanese company promotes Heather's work. One gallery in Honolulu who exhibit many Heather's work is owned by Japanese guy. It means... if an artist can catch the heart of this Japanese company, his/her work will be well treated with Japanese as a symbol of Hawaii, I guess...

Strangely, I found another place to miss... Switzerland!

Bakery from Switzerland

Look at the flag! It is Swiss bakery in the same building of Hawaii Festival. I went inside and found Japanese bread. Oh no! Where is "Tresse"? I couldn't find some typical Swiss bread. Tresse is everywhere in Switzerland especially during weekend. This bakery is too modified for Japanese. I found Anpan, Melonpan etc... which I can't find in Switzerland.

Chocolate café of Lindt

I found another Swiss shop in Sakae area (the center of Nagoya city). You know that Switzerland is famous for milk chocolate! One company opened a chocolate café there. I bought some milk chocolate which I often bought when I was in Switzerland.

I was exhausted today by walking a lot around Sakae area, but it was fun! I'd like to find more interesting things in Nagoya.