Naminoue Shrine

After the gardens we headed to a Shinto shrine. There is also a Buddist Temple there as well. To go into a Shinto shrine you first have to pass through one torii gate and then you come to a second. Between these two areas you are to clear your head to prepare for prayer. Our tour guide was telling us that in some Chinese Shinto shrines the area between these two torii gates could be miles.

This was the first torii gate:

and here was the second:
It is common in Japanese culture to come to a Shinto shrine during the celebration of a child's 3rd, 5th and 7th birthdays.
Before you can say your prayer you have to go to an area set up with ladels and water and purify yourself. You first pour water over your left hand and then your right. Some people then sip some water and then spit it out underneath. Afterwards, both Michael and I paid our 100 Yen to get our "written oracles". They were surprisingly good!!