Dog-Friendly Travel in the Izu Peninsula and Praying for Pets' Health at Jingi Shrine

Here in Tokyo, the rainy season is over, and the brutally hot summer heat has hit with a vengeance. Shizuoka reached 40℃ on July 7th and its pretty much certain that the 2020 record of 41.1℃ will be broken at some point this year. The Japan Association for Acute Medicine (JAAM) seems to think so too, and has added a new "special heatstroke alert" (熱中症特別警戒アラート) level to its heatstroke index; the Ministry of the Environment publishes a daily map showing which areas are under heat stroke or special heat stroke alerts (pictured). This is based on the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WGBT), a measure of the heat stress in direct sunlight; anything over 31 is classified as dangerous and exercise outside is not recommended. Special cooling shelters (クーリングシェルター）have been set up in community centres and shopping malls and parasols have become ubiquitous, among both men and women.

As well as keeping hydrated, as I have written before, one of the ways to prevent heat-stroke, avoid natsu-bate (heat fatigue), and generally survive the fierce Japanese summer heat is to eat nutritious, stamina-boosting foods. Traditionally, foods beginning with "u" are said to be good and one of the best is unagi or eel. In fact, there is a special day for eating eel known as doyō no ushi no hi (土用の丑の日) or "day of the ox", traditionally the height of the summer. This year doyō no ushi day fell on July 24th, though there is also a second "eel" day on August 5th (for a full explanation see here). Personally, I also love deep-fried eel bones, crunchy, salty, and guaranteed to shake off the summer blues - though every single one of my British friends found them utterly repugnant when I brought them back as souvenirs on my last trip back!

Looking for a little respite, we headed to the Izu Peninsula (伊豆半島) which, despite being in Shizuoka Prefecture, is a good three or four degrees cooler than Tokyo. I highly recommend the Odoriko (踊り子) special train which runs from Tokyo, via Atami, to either Shimoda (stopping at Kawazu) in the south or Shuzenji on the west coast. I have already written about Atami, the traditional Japanese sea-side resort and hot-spring paradise. I would also recommend Kawazu, famous for its 850 cherry blossom trees along the Kawazu River in the spring. In this extreme heat though the best thing about Kawazu is the hour-long trail in the mountains along the “seven waterfalls of Kawazu,” (河津七滝) which is deliciously refreshing and cool to walk along. This area is also the setting for Nobel Literature Prize Winner Yasunari Kawabata’s famous novel of first love, “The Dancing Girl of Izu” (伊豆の踊子) from which the special train gets its name. Kawazu is also famous for wasabi (Japanese horseradish) grown in the streams of Amagi, and local wasabi dishes, such as buckwheat noodles and even ice-cream, are widely available.

We stayed near Ito City not far from the coast since we wanted to take our much-loved dog, Jaz (Jasmine), to the beach where she loves digging holes in the sand - but adamantly refuses to go near the water! The whole area is amazingly dog-friendly, both in terms of restaurants/cafes and accommodation. Jaz is a "shelter dog" (hogoken=保護犬) who was found abandoned and dangerously mal-nourished in Saitama in spring 2011; she was taken to a government shelter (保健所) where she was due to be put down but was saved by a local animal rescue organisation and we adopted her in October of that year (see here for an older post). Two years ago, she was diagnosed with leukemia (白血病) and has been undergoing treatment at a university hospital in Musashino City since. Not knowing how much time we have left together we wanted to spend some quality time with her - and also take her to the famous dog/cat shrine at Jingi Shrine (神祇大社) in Ito to pray for her health.

Climbing up the steep stairs to Jingi Shrine, one is greeted by a magnificent view of the coast and refreshing sea breezes. After entering the shrine through the Torii gate and before praying at the altar, it is customary to purify yourself by washing your hands in a water trough with a ladle and in a nice touch there is a small stone water bowl where pets too are invited to purify themselves, a practice known as okiyome (お清め). We prayed at the shrine and then went over to the shop to buy an omamori (lucky charm or protective amulet) for Jaz; the priest also performed a purification (oharai=おはらい) ritual to drive evil spirits away by chanting and shaking bells (see the video below and note Jaz' reaction!). One can also buy a wooden wish plaque known as an ema (絵馬）in the shape of a dog or cat's head on which you draw your pet's face, write a wish, and hang up with hundreds of others. This (Japanese) post gives a great step-by-step description of one dog lover's trip to the shrine with her two dogs. Anyway, enjoy the video and look forward to hearing your COMMENTS!