Ise Shima National Park

This coastal park, 75 miles east of Osaka, is best known for Ise Grand Shrine, a revered Shinto shrine that has attracted pilgrims for nearly 2,000 years.

The shrine’s two sections: Naiku (the shrine of the Shinto sun goddess) and Geku (the shrine of the earth god) are torn down every 20 years and rebuilt on an adjacent plot. The rebuilding is next scheduled to occur in 2013.

The Shima region is known for its winding and rugged coastline, with many scenic spots overlooking the islands of Toba Bay.

The forest at Ise Shrine has abundant wildlife including deer, boars, Japanese monkeys and flying squirrels. Also found here are mikado (emperor) butterflies, one of the rarest butterfly species in Japan. Ise Shrine skirts the northern range of the butterfly’s habitat.

The calm inner regions of Ago Bay are used for pearl farming. On the Pacific Ocean side are rough seas and jagged cliffs.

The area between Irago Cape and the Shima Peninsula is the spring and autumn migration route for many types of butterflies and gray-faced buzzard eagles.

Herring gulls, black-tailed gulls and cormorants are common in tidal areas.