Our Sapporo guide only just hit shelves, but as they say, there's no rest for the wicked: next up in Time Out Tokyo's well-travelled guide map series is Ise-Shima in central Mie Prefecture, an area's that's suddenly been cast into the international spotlight after getting picked to host the 2016 G7 Summit.
Think you've never even heard of the place? Well, if you're familiar with the top dog among all of Japan's hundreds of thousands of shrines, then the first part of the name might ring a bell. Yep, Ise-Shima is home to Ise Jingu aka Ise Grand Shrine, arguably the holiest site in all of Shinto, dedicated to uber-kami Amaterasu. Stretching far and wide through Mie's Shima Peninsula, the Ise-Shima area also boasts an abundance of natural beauty, having had the honour of being registered as the first national park in Japan after World War II.
This time around, we've teamed up with said Ise-Shima National Park – which is celebrating its 70th birthday this year – and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's Chubu District Transport Bureau to bring you 50 things to do in Ise-Shima, a guide that invites travellers to explore the area like a local. In addition to the obvious big-time sights, we've included a bunch of more offbeat spots, including a village known for hawking big and juicy oysters for a mere ¥100.
In addition to being distributed in the Ise-Shima area itself, the free guide is available across Tokyo, from the Shibuya Station Tourist Information Centre to bars, shops and major hotels, as well as our very own Time Out Café & Diner in Ebisu. Pick it up right away to start planning your tour of the spiritual, natural and culinary, or order your copy directly from our Map Store (subject to availability).