In front of the Itsukushima Shrine stands the Otorii, a giant torii gate built out in the water where the torii appears to "float" on top of the water.
I arrived at Miyajima in the rain and as the tide was starting to go out. In a few hours it would be low-tide and would then be possible to walk out and stand beside the Otorii. While waiting for low-tide I explored the rest of the area around the shrine. There are many temples and shrines on Miyajima as well as two pagodas. One of the most interesting parts of Miyajima is the "treasure house", a building containing some national treasures. Photography was not allowed for most of the exhibits, but I snapped a couple when no one was around. There were sets of samurai armour so I just couldn't resist getting some pictures.
After probably offending a few gods, I continued to explore Miyajima.
I found that there is a small aquarium on the island so I walked over to take a look. It was fairly small and some of the enclosures for the animals could be considered cruel due to their size. They had a fairly wide range of fish and animals including sharks, eels, turtles, seals, otters, and even penguins.
Finless porpoise. There were about 5 of them in a circular tank where all they could do is swim in circles.
There were 4 otters running around in this enclosure and they would barely stay still long enough to get a picture of them.
They even brought out two penguins to pose for pictures and let people pet them.
A small video clip of one of the penguins posing for pictures.
Having seen everything in the aquarium I headed back towards the Otorii to see if it was low-tide yet. By this time the tide was out and it was possible to walk out and stand beside the Otorii gate.
I wandered around the island a little more and then walked over to hotel I would be staying at. I wanted to stay on Miyajima rather than head back to Hiroshima so that I could get some pictures of the island at night. I checked in and once again had a small room although it was much, much better than my hotel room in Hiroshima. Later that evening I headed out to get some night shots of Miyajima and the lights of Hiroshima.
There is a small town on Miyajima that probably survives completely on tourism. The streets are entirely deserted by 9pm.
In the morning it was clear and sunny so I decided I would try and climb Mt. Misen to get some panoramic shots of Miyajima. There is a cable car that takes you to the top of the mountain but it was out for repairs. My only choice was to pick one of the few trails that go up to the top of the mountain. Wandering around I found the start of one of the trails, only to see that it was blocked off with signs warning that there had been a rock slide. That should have been the first indication that climbing the mountain was probably not a good idea. So, I walked further on towards where another path supposedly started. After spending about 20 minutes trying to find the path, probably the second indicator that I should give up on my plan, I finally found it and started up. It was fairly early in the morning, about 7:30 am and the town was still mostly asleep. The further up I went the more and more quiet it became. It really was a nice, peaceful change from the noise and hustle of Tokyo and Hiroshima.
Part way up I managed to get a couple of good shots of Miyajima.
The path was quite steep and it wasn't much more than a dirt trail with narrow steps carved from stone. After about an hour of climbing, it was about 8:30 am by this time, I figured that I should be near the top. Unfortunately the tree coverage was fairly thick and I couldn't really tell how far up I actually was. I checked the tourist map I had and the information on it said that the path I was on should take about 1 hour and 20 minutes. I figured I must be at least 3/4s of the way up so I kept climbing, and climbing and climbing. By 9:30 I began to wonder two things. First, why was I doing this? I was tired, sweaty, my legs hurt, and my body kept asking me if there was something wrong. Exercise has never been high on my list of priorities. In fact I don't think exercise has ever even been on my list of priorities. The second thing I was wondering was who decided that it was a walk of only 1 hour and 20 minutes? Did they account for overweight, Western tourists, who like to sleep in late, and only eat donuts for breakfast?
Finally I reached a point where the map showed two paths merging, the one I was currently on and the one that was closed off due to rock slides. (Remember the rock slides.....they're important). So I pressed on, assured that I was at more than 3/4s of the way up since the map (and maps are never wrong not even low detail tourist maps) showed the two paths converging near the top of the mountain. Eventually I came across a tree that had been knocked down across the path.
I could see the path continue on the other side, so I scrambled over the tree. That should have been indicator number three that I should have stayed in bed rather than try to climb Mt. Misen. At about 10:00 am I came across another tree that had been knocked down and was laying across the path. I was going to have to work my away around it as well, careful not to slip and fall. I had to keep reminding myself that I was alone up here, there was no one else around and falling and injuring myself would be a very bad idea. With that on my mind, and my stomach grumbling that there better be something to eat at the top, I managed to work my way past the tree and continue on up the mountain. After climbing for about another 10 minutes or so, I came across another knocked down tree. Only this time it wasn't just one tree it was many trees, rocks, and dirt.
The path had been completely obliterated.
I guess no one had decided to check on just how bad the rock slide had been. To top it off the batteries in my camera died soon after taking these pictures and the spare set were safely back in my hotel room. Even if I had managed to make it to the top I would not have been able to take many pictures. Defeated, I made the long journey back down the mountain. I guess I really did offend the Miyajima gods when I took those pictures in the treasure house.
