Toden Monaka and Oji Inari Shrine in Oji
1. Today's Walking Course
I came to Oji, north part of Tokyo. Today, I will enjoy Japanese sweets and visit Oji Inari Shrine.
2. Today's Photographies
Now I am in Kajiwara Station, Toden Arakawa Line. The scenery with the train around here is very good. I really love the nostalgic atmosphere that Arakawa Line has.
This shop is called Toden-Monaka Akemi sweet shop.
This shop is famous for “Toden-Monaka”. Monaka is a wafer filled with bean paste. This shop’s monaka looks like Toden Arakawa Train as below. That is why it is called “Toden-Monaka”. We cannot leave this shop without getting “Toden-Monaka”!
I also bought sweet beans jelly called Yokan in Japanese. Japanese people like to eat Yokan in summer because they look very cool.
In addition, I got steamed bun that looks like fox. Oji Inari Shrine where I will visit today is related to fox. Therefore, you can see a lot of designs of fox in Oji.
After buying sweets, I will head to Oji Inari Shrine. Look! There are some fox’s design on some shops. It’s so interesting. I feel that local people are so attached to fox in Oji.
The shrine is just on the top of this hill.
This is the entrance.
There are some fox statues!
The main hall is so fine.
There are consecutive red Trii gates. These are typical for Inari shrine.
3. History
In Japan, there are many kinds of shrine. Inari shrine is to worship the God for abundant rice crop. Fox is an animal considered to be a messenger of Inari God. That is why there are fox statues in Inari shrine.
Oji Inari Shrine was built before the 9th century. From the 17th century to 19th century in Edo era, the shrine was regarded as the most high ranking Inari shrine in Kanto area which include Tokyo, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Ibaraki, Gunma, Tochigi.
At that time, many people visited Oji Inari Shrine for worship as the following painting shows.
It was also said that foxes all over Kanto area gathered at Oji on the New Year’s Eve to worship at Oji Inari Shrine. The following picture shows this story.
4. Information
・Closest station to Oji Inari Shrine is Oji Station, JR Keihin Tohoku Line.
・Closest station to Toden-Monaka Akemi sweet shop is Kajiwara Station, Toden Arakawa Line. The shop is open form 10:00am to 7:00pm from Tuesday to Sunday. It is closed on Monday.
If you are interested in Oji, please check the following articles.
