Miyajima - Hiroshima

We reached Miyajima (Jima means island) after a 40min train ride from Dobashi. At Miyajima-guchi station, right next to it was the ferry terminal. Starving, we went for some Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki that were supposed to be famous.. Didn't enjoy it that much as Osaka-style one though. The difference is in the way they are fried. Osaka-style ones have their ingredients all mixed up while Hiroshima ones are layered. Then we boarded the 10 min ferry! Deers were freely roaming there so we had the chance to play with some of them..

Miyajima is said to have one of the 3 prettiest sights in Japan, which is the Torii (Gate) floating on the water. We arrived at low tide, so got to take some photos close up wif it. Behind it is a huge shrine also constructed on the seabed. The entire island is deemed a shrine so the gate is built in the water to signify that visitors are entering a shrine. The gate is not dug in though.. It is merely resting on its own weight.

On the seabed, with one of the locals who were digging for clams. She got many in her pail.. Probably a few hundred. The shrine built on the seabed is Itsukushima Shrine. High tide would be much nicer!

Oysters were also a must try in Hiroshima. Grilled ones we found but didn't try. We tried a seabream fishcake and maple leaf style cakes with green tea inside though! Pretty good. Then we climbed Mt Misen.... A measly 500+m high wasn't going to be tough we figured.. But it was bloody steep! so we grudgingly finished it. Great view and the expected expensive drinks at the top.

Nearing the summit of Mt Misen, there were a couple of shrines. One of them housed a flame that is said to have been burning for 1200 years now. It was lit by Kobo Daishi, a holy man, in the autumn of year 806. This same flame was also used to light the Flame of Peace in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.. Along the way up, there were several small stone altars and where passer-bys would pick up a stone and place it on the ever-growing stack. And then, sheltered from the elements, in a stone crevice, there was another.


Playing with more deers.. And a smile from our deer friend. And then we soaked in the beautiful sights, tried to look cool in some photos and then made our way down after half an hour. On hindsight, it was worth the sweat.


Strolling around the streets of Miyajima. Many tourist shops are found there but half were closed by 630pm. The streets were lined with very beautiful traditional style 2 storey houses. Wooden crafts were a specialty here and that big wooden thing in the photo is a rice scoop.
The bottom right hand corner is a Sanrio shop - packed with Hello Kitties.
Tide came up before we left so we could capture some nicer shots of the Torii.

Stuart yearning for a freezing Coke right now.