Our last stop of the day was Imamiya Shrine. The gate was so pretty! So large in comparison to the family standing underneath.
This shrine was established in 994. Its purpose was to help remove diseases and epidemics from the city of Kyoto. There was a huge epidemic that ravaged Kyoto in the year 1000, and so this shrine was moved to its present location in 1001 because it was thought that it could better protect the city from disease at this spot.
Kirstin was able to get out of her bike seat for a little bit. She was happy to have a change, even if it meant sitting on a rock.
The complex to the temple was large.
There was a Zen-type gravel area in front. We saw a lot of this in Kyoto. Haven't seen it in Tokyo at all.
This rock is thought to be able to cure any physical ailments or diseases that one may be dealing with. It has magical properties and is called the Ahokashisan.
One is supposed to approach the rock in a reverent manner, touch it, and then anything of a physical nature that you would like cured will be taken away from your body. We all took turns touching the rock.
This shrine contains a main hall or Haiden and many smaller shrines. So many of the buildings were remodeled or reconstructed in 1902, but the statues and stone lanterns seemed so old.
This is a beautiful shrine, and we enjoyed being here and exploring the grounds. But, it was nearing 5 p.m. and we wanted to see the nearby restaurants before they closed shop for the day.
The Imamiya Shrine is famous for two mochi cake shops located near its eastern gate. This is the first shop and it has been open for over 600 years! In the very same location! It's mind blowing.
Very traditional: low tables, pillows to sit on, tatami mats, take off your shoes at the door.
We stopped at this one. This shop has been in business at this location for 1,000 years....hard to comprehend that.
They were actually closing, but when they saw us, they were very welcoming and brought some "children tea" out for the kids and some green tea for Raymond and me. We declined the green tea, but after inquiring about the "kid tea", it was in line with our religious beliefs and so we all drank some of that.
There were small pillows for us to sit on and there were heaters nearby. It was getting a little chilly, so the hot tea and heaters were very comforting.
We ordered four orders of mochi. The sweet ladies put small balls of rice dough onto sticks and roasted them over charcoal. This shop has been in their family for twenty-five generations. They grew up working here with their mother and grandmother.
They put a sweet sauce on the mochi and served it with more "chidren tea". Oh my gosh! It was really, really good! When I complimented our host on her mochi and told her that it was the best we have ever had, she smiled and told us that we should have had her mother's mochi. Her mother passed away eight years ago, but she ran the shop all her life. Our host then showed us a book about Kyoto that featured this wonderful 1,000 year old shop. Her mother was in the photos of the shop, and you could see the pride and honor that our host displayed in her eyes as she told us about her mother and grandmother running the shop.
This was an amazing Japanese treat for us! The tea, the wonderful mochi, the Japanese atmosphere, and the sweetest ladies on the planet!! We loved them! They were so gracious....true ladies.
This is the inside of the baking area. They make the mochi dough fresh every day right here. It's just rice ground into flour and water. Imagine the memories these sweet, wonderful ladies must have from this shop. They literally grew up here from the time they were babies, under the foot of their mother and grandmother.
We completely loved talking to these ladies! What sweet, amazing women they are! It was hard to say good-bye, but we had to let them get on with their evening (they did stay open just for us, after all). We got back on our trusty steeds (our bikes) and headed back to our rental while enjoying the sunset.
Being able to enjoy tea and mochi at this shop was the absolute perfect end to a really great day!!
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