The Legend of Kanamara-sama
Once upon a time, but in a land not very far away if you happen to live in Tokyo, there lived a beautiful princess. Well, actually she was an innkeeper's daughter, but close enough. But alas, an evil demon with sharp teeth had taken a liking to her. The demon had courted the girl, but she had stayed pure, and one day the demon learned that the girl was engaged to be married the very next day. So that night, the demon snuck into her house and crawled right up inside her! Our heroine, terrified but helpless, told no-one and the marriage ceremony went ahead as planned... but on the night of the wedding, when her new husband tried to perform his conjugal duties for the first time, the demon's sharp teeth went snickety-snack! and the poor man was turned into a eunuch. And the tale tells us that her next husband met the same fate, although the details of how they conned the village idiot into marrying her have not passed down to us.
It was clear that things could not go on like this, and the whole village met to discuss the, shall we say, prickly issue. After extensive deliberations, a candle lit up over the blacksmith's head: "Why not," he said, "why not deflower the girl with an iron phallus?" The metal tool was duly made and tested, and upon chomping down the demon found that it had bitten off more than it could chew; whimpering, it crawled out and slunk off to hide in a dark corner and nurse its broken teeth. The blacksmith married the girl and they all lived happily ever after... except the demon and the two eunuchs, that is.
Kawasaki is largely an industrial area and residential suburb — as typical in Japan, not much distinction between the two is made. But there's one very large temple and one very offbeat shrine to draw in the occasional curious tourist.
Kawasaki Daishi
å·å´å¤§å¸«, officially Heikenji å¹³é寺. (http://www.sphere.ad.jp/d...) in Japanese. A large temple dedicated to famed monk and scholar Kobo Daishi see Mt. Koya. Featuring a 8-sided, 5-storied pagoda and more large temple buildings than you can shake a stick at, Kawasaki Daishi is a textbook example of a Japanese temple and remarkable primarily for the fact that on a weekday you can pretty much have the place to yourself. Easily reached on foot from Kawasaki Daishi station, a 10-minute stroll through a shopping arcade. Being one of the largest temples in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, this place is phenomenally popular as a place for locals to pray in the New Year at midnight.Wakamiya Hachiman-gÅ« Shrine
è¥å®®å «å¹¡å®®, (http://tomuraya.co.jp/wak...). A quiet Shinto shrine that would be indistinguishable from your average neighborhood shrine if not for one thing: this happens to be one of Japan's few remaining fertility shrines, and the deity venerated here assumes the form of a meter-long iron phallus, known as Kanamara-sama éã¾ãæ§, lit. "Iron Big Penis Lord". There are a number of stories behind this, and while the most entertaining one is certainly the official legend see box, the more likely explanation seems that prostitutes from nearby brothels — still a large industry in Kawasaki — used to pray here for protection. To get to the shrine, take the only exit from Kawasaki Daishi station, cross the intersection and follow the road that branches off second from the right. There is a hospital on the corner visible from the station, and the shrine is just beyond it. It inexplicably shares its grounds with a kindergarten. Definitely best visited during festival time see Do.In the shrine building you can also find a small sex museum, showcasing mostly Japanese erotic art. A few notable exhibits include a version of the Three Monkeys with two extra monkeys and life-sized brass model of a vagina; if you buy an amulet from the shop see Buy, you're supposed to rub it against this. Opening hours are erratic, but the shrine shop attendant will usually be happy to open it up on request. Entry is free, but donations are accepted.
Nihon Minka-En
æ¥æ¬æ°å®¶å, or Japan Open-Air Folk House Museum (http://www.city.kawasaki....). The large grounds display over twenty traditional Japanese houses and the gate of Nagoya castle, dating from the late 17th to early 20th century and transplanted from around the country. Rarely crowded, and costing only Â¥500 admission, the museum is a 12 min. walk from Mukogaoka-yuen station on the Odakyu Line from Shinjuku, or 20 min. from Noborito on the JR Nanbu Line.If you like to gamble, Kawasaki is also home to a horse racing track and a keirin bicycle racing track. The horse track is located next to the Keikyu Daishi Line Minatomachi station, while the keirin track is a 15 minute walk from the JR and Keikyu Kawasaki train stations.
Summer fireworks displays
Whilst summer fireworks are ubiquitous across Japan, especially Tokyo, the one outside Futako-Tamagawa station between Tokyo and Kawasaki is perhaps the hidden gem of the calendar. It has a "boom-factor" rivalling some of the larger ones, but is instead split into two on the roster each with half the notoriety thus bumping it to the end of the listings as half the fireworks are launched in Tokyo Prefecture and half in Kanagawa Prefecture. On the one night. They take turns so it comes across as somewhat as a competition of one-upmanship. Happens near the end of summer, check local schedules.