Japan: Miyajima

Good morning from the island!  Miyajima is one of Japan's most popular tourist spots.  The famous "floating" torii gate attracts viewers at all hours of the day.  The first torii of Itsukushima Shrine was built in 1168.  The present one is from 1875 and the main pillars (each with a 30 foot circumference!) were built from a 500-year-old camphor tree, which is highly resistant to insects and rot.  It stands about 16 meters tall.  The cross pieces are full of 7 tons of rocks so the extremely sturdy gate is freestanding on the seabed.  Impressive engineering aside, it symbolizes the gateway between our world and the spirit world.  When Itsukushima Shrine was built, commoners were not allowed onto the island without first passing through the torii (by boat).  Like us, most people arrive at the ferry port these days.

This morning we ate a traditional Japanese breakfast in the ryokan's restaurant and to be honest we enjoyed maybe half of the food.  We were definitely at the point of craving Western food especially after having a breakfast where we could identify about half of what we ate.  They had a pretty decent Western buffet available with bacon, fruit, hashbrowns, and something that was labeled "eggslut".  I satisfied my need for home food with a croissant and some coffee.

We weren't in any particular hurry today since we'd decided to scratch Hiroshima off of our itinerary completely.  We needed an extra full day on this trip.  Before leaving home we thought we could cover both the island and nearby Hiroshima on the same day but once we checked into the relaxing ryokan last night the inertia of a slower pace took over.

We wandered down to the shore at about the same time the first ferries with day-trippers started to arrive.  Last night we had been able to walk right up to the torii and this morning the tide was near it's highest point.

Other than a few side streets that are jammed with little shops and restaurants there's not a whole lot else to do other than wander around and hike Mt. Misen, the island's tallest mountain at 1,755 feet high.  There are three main trails up to the mountain's top observatory platform so we chose the one that goes past Daishoin Temple and avoids the crowds of people who decide to ride the rope way up.  We caught a glimpse of Daishoin and I wandered over to look at the main gate.  I could see a long staircase going up the mountain towards other temple buildings but returned to the main trail which climbed along several creek beds.  There were many warning signs telling hikers to turn back during monsoon season.  Luckily for us we were in the right season to avoid flash flooding however we still had to heed the other signs that warned of venomous snakes.  Yikes!

As we climbed through the humid forest we could occasionally see the Onoseto Strait between Miyajima and the mainland.  There were many floating oyster farm platforms and some pretty great views of other islands.  It was about a 90-minute hike to the top.

After returning to town we did a little bit of shopping and had some lunch.  I had a really good oyster curry and later bought some grilled oysters from a stand.  Because the island is pretty much tourism-based there weren't any grocery or convenience stores in our area.  It turned out that the oyster stand was selling canned beer for pretty cheap so I ordered a couple of tall ones and we scurried back to our room and took a shower.  Actually, Hans took a shower and I filled our room's ultra deep soaking tub with cold water.  It felt so amazing!  For the rest of the afternoon we pretty much just relaxed, drank our beer, had some tea, and ate a few small snacks.  I really wanted to go inside Itsukushima Shrine but Hans still needed some downtime.  I took the camera and headed back into town just in time for high tide and sunset.

I bumped into our new German friend from last night (again, almost literally) and we had a nice chat while also taking pictures in the last hour that the shrine was open.  The evening glow really beautified the shrine.  Soon it was time for dinner so I scrambled back to the room and changed into my yukata just in time for our first course.

Sake barrels in the left photo

This lovely bridge was right on the inn's property

Beautiful appetizers and the local favorite food: Grilled conger eel

It was time for another night stroll while the ryokan staff made up the room for sleeping.  The tide was high again so we admired the gate from the shore and walked past the lovely rows of lanterns.

When we got back to our room I decided to take one last dip in the ryokan's traditional Japanese thermal bath: The onsen!

This was actually my third time in the onsen since check-in yesterday.  I went before bedtime last night and this morning I went right when they opened at 6 am.  It was so magical this morning.  I stepped into the cold air in the outdoor pool and had it all to myself as I watched a small deer quietly nibble its way up the mountain hillside.

Did I mention that you have to be completely naked to use a Japanese onsen?  I will admit that I was pretty nervous about it on the first time that I went.  But you know what?  It's just what everyone does so nobody treats it like a big deal.  Here's a link to a video about onsen etiquette if you are curious.

Photo from our ryokan's website of the onsen.

The washing stations were around the indoor pool 

and there was another smaller pool outside.

Tonight I took a much longer soak to soothe my legs after a day of hiking, dried my hair in the locker room, crawled under my fluffy duvet, and instantly fell asleep.