The four of us headed to Kobe for the day. After our 40 minute train ride we arrived and, with a little help from the locals, found a beautiful shrine, the Ikuta Shrine. We were pleasantly surprised at the size of this shrine as it not only consisted of one large shrine, but there were also smaller shrines to find in amongst the large surrounding gardens. We saw many people throwing money in the box, bowing, clapping, shaking the big rope to ring the 0ver-sized cat bell and preying. 
The most interesting thing we saw was in the car park as we approached the shrine. A man in traditional costume was shaking a giant white pom pom on a stick in front of each car. Hmmm. The grounds were really peaceful and it was an interesting place. Certainly one of the better temples I've visited. It also had a mini version of the long line of torii gates in Kyoto (from Memoirs of a Geisha). Sorry Mer, I could hardly get a jog up in this tunnel, I'll wait for the real one!
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