The Google Map Crap Blues

Through my research, I've discovered that Kashima shrine is part of a three shrine pilgrimage, shared with Katori and Ikisu. My plan was to go to the other shrines and document what I find and share what I've researched. But the key there is finding the other two shrines. From consulting Google Maps I've already found the spot they labeled Ikisu three times over. I had mentioned it in my Welcome To Kashima post about the shrine to the fire god. What I've been finding is that Japan isn't very well documented through Google Maps and that it isn't uncommon for some places to share names, so it's quite confusing. Not to be deterred I decide to proceed and attempt to find Katori. Google claimed Katori was a little more than 11 km (about 7 miles) away. And so I set out on my bike and rode through the side roads, main thoroughfares, and over bridges to eventually arrive at my destination. In the middle of a farm field. There was a small shrine there, but not a grand one in compassion to Kashima. Looked to be family shrine. Starting to head back I feel a cold sweet smelling wind and see looming overcast clouds. Despite this I decided to ride out towards the sunset and enjoy the beauty of the moment. 

The path led me back to Itako. Itako is a wonderful town, I decide to wind my way through Itako as it had an interesting house I spotted a couple months ago I wanted to photograph. While exploring I find a quaint tako-yaki shop. Tako-yaki is a very tasty treat, a kind of dumpling with ginger, herbs, and octopus inside, coated with a sauce. I stop inside to find the place is stacked floor to ceiling with anime figures, posters, and stuffed animals. But crazily, staffed by a kindly old couple. We talked; I told them that I'm an English teacher, live in Kashima, rode my bicycle, and had been unsuccessfully trying to find Katori. The kind old woman lights up and pulls out a map and offers it to me as a present. At the word "present" the old man leaps up with a spark in his eye and makes a special order of unagi-yaki, like tako-yaki but with eel instead of octopus, and gifts it to me as another present. And THEN as the woman wraps the unagi-yaki to go she reaches back and brings out two candy treats with popular cartoon characters on them and places them in the bag. Their generosity was surprising! Maybe I should have hung out longer to see if they would continue to try and one up each other but I decided to head home. On the way back I did photograph the house, it's nothing greatly special but I really like the look of it. And so after being overly reliant on faulty technology it was talking with the locals that may spell the key to finding these other shrines.