Tagataisha Shrine is located in Taga, Shiga, a small town about twenty minutes by car from Azuchi, the town where I stayed. This was the first Shinto shrine I visited. You can also download a QuickTime clip (2.4MB) of the entrance area of the shrine. In it, you can see the torii or giant entranceway, and the curved bridge you should walk over before entering the shrine compound. Click the thumbnails below to see a larger picture.
Here is a view of the main building of the Tagataisha shrine, peering through the main gate.
This is the main building of Tagataisha shrine. People normally can't go there, but these people could go inside because they were involved in some kind of ceremony. Where I'm standing, is the furthest people can go. It's actually not inside the building at all, but just in front of it. Here people stand and pray after tossing a small coin in a container.
This barrel of whisky is next to the sake barrels in the other picture. I have no idea why this is in the shrine compound, either.
