Over the winter holiday I spent a few days in Ise. It was good to get away for a while and have a change of scenery. There are several things to do in and around Ise. One of these is a visit to Futami to see Meoto Iwa or the Married Couple Rocks.

Futami is a seaside village with lots of traditional Japanese guesthouses or Ryokan. There were also a few shops selling souvenirs and such like. Generally the village was closed as, I suspect, people were getting ready for the busy new year period. It was nice to wander along the shale beach though.

The Married Couple Rocks are found near by. The big one is the husband and the smaller one, the wife (perhaps that should be the other way round?). The rice straw rope that connects the two is replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. They represent the two gods who created the “kami”. Kami are kind of like gods or spirits. On the day I visited it was very windy and the married couple were taking quite a pounding from the waves. You are supposed to be able to see Mount Fuji in the distance but I couldn’t see much.