Two kilometers west of Geku, the trail intersects with the sacred Miyagawa River, an historical site for purification before worshipping at Ise Jingu.
There was a ferry service here until the Miyagawa Railway Bridge and the wooden Watarai-bashi Bridge were built in 1897 and 1911 respectively.
Many teahouses lined the banks and because of the numerous willow trees, the crossing was known as Yanagi-noWatashi.
Further downstream was another crossing known as Sakura-noWatashi after its many cherry trees. There are currently about 700 cherry trees and it is one of Japan’s 100 famous cherry viewing sites.
The Miya-gawa is a large river flowing into Ise Bay, 91 km long with a watershed of 920 km².
Its source is the upper reaches of the Odaigahara mountain range, which straddles Mie Prefecture and Nara Prefecture and receives an enormous amount of rain, more than 4,800 mm a year.
Because of the high rainfall it is prone to flooding and many flood banks have been built since the Edo Period, including the Miyagawa Tsutsumi bank.
The stones used in the Oshiraishimochi white pebble carrying event during the Shikinen Sengu rebuilding ceremony are taken from the Miya-gawa river.
