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Our guide
Meoto Iwa, the “Married Couple Rocks”, are two rocky stacks off the coast at Futami-ga-ura near Ise, belonging to Futami Okitama Shrine. In Shinto they stand for the union of the creator kami Izanagi and Izanami, and so celebrate the union of man and woman in marriage. The larger rock, said to be the male, has a small torii at its peak.
The two are joined by a shimenawa, a heavy rope of rice straw made of five strands of 40 kg each, which has to be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. At dawn in summer the sun appears to rise between the rocks, and Mount Fuji can be seen in the distance.
Futaminoura Station on the Sangū Line is about 1.1 km away in a straight line.
Written by japan-spots.com (2026-09-22) from the sources credited on this page. Distances are straight lines between map positions.
Photos
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, each under its own licence — see credits
- 'Ise Futamigaura' — Utagawa Hiroshige · Public domain · source · resized
- Meotoiwa — Marubatsu (uploader on Commons) · Public domain · source · resized
- Meoto Iwa Mie — tozanka · Public domain · source · resized
- Meoto Iwa 2 — Jennie Kondo (Jennie Valdivieso Kondo - Grialte) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Meoto Iwa 3 — Jennie Kondo (Jennie Valdivieso Kondo - Grialte) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
- Meoto Iwa 4 — Jennie Kondo (Jennie Valdivieso Kondo - Grialte) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · source · resized
What this place is
Meoto Iwa (夫婦岩), or Married Couple Rocks, are a kind of rock formation seen as religiously significant in Shinto. They are a subtype of Iwakura rock. According to Shinto, the rocks represent the union of the creator kami, Izanagi and Izanami. The rocks, therefore, celebrate the union in marriage of man and woman. The most famous pair is the pair at Futami Okitama Shrine in Futami-ga-ura, two rocky stacks off the coast from Ise, Mie, Japan. They are joined by a shimenawa (a heavy rope of rice straw) and are considered sacred by worshippers of the shrine. The shimenawa, composed of five separate strands which each have a mass of 40 kilograms, must be replaced several times a year in a special ceremony. The larger rock, said to be male, has a small torii at its peak. At dawn during the summer, the sun appears to rise between the two rocks. Mount Fuji is visible in the distance.
Background text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
What to expect at this type of place: Landmark
Nearby station
Nearby station: Futaminoura (Sangū Line), about 1.1 km from the spot in a straight line.
Worked out on 2026-09-14 from this place’s map position, using HeartRails Express station data and station names from Wikidata. The distance is a straight line, not a walking route, and says nothing about buses, transfers or timetables — plan the trip on Google Maps.
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