Sakura Grand Tour 2013: Miyajima

Picking up from where I left off in the last post, I was on the way to Miyajima with PL and her parents. Thankfully the weather on this day was absolutely perfect — not a cloud in the sky. We couldn’t have chosen a nicer day to make the journey down to the island.

We took the JR train from Hiroshima station (400 yen), and transferred to the JR ferry (170 yen) at Miyajima-guchi. Including waiting times, we made it there within an hour (although I highly recommend researching the train and ferry times beforehand).

Only in Japan: hand woven cushions for the seats on the train platform (provided by the neighbourhood community). Despite their age, they haven’t been destroyed or vandalised by anyone. Amazing…
The JR ferry to the island
Brilliant blue sky and water
Our first sighting of the famous torii gate
The official UNESCO certificate for the island, framed in the ferry terminal
You’re not supposed to feed the deer, but this boy was teasing them anyway (so mean)
A map of the entire island
One of the food streets leading up to the shrine
Relaxing by the water
What a beautiful fawn!
The deer are free to roam around, but they were either lying down looking really bored or begging for snacks
The tide is in, so the steps can’t be used
Tourists!
The entrance to Itsukushima Shrine
The entire complex is built on stilts to accommodate the tides
=)
The hallways were quite wide, which helped make the entire place seem very grand
One of my favourite images in this set
The water’s reflection, courtesy of the bright sunshine
PL photobombing my shot…
The main audience hall and the platform for ritual court dances (only performed on special days)
A better view of the scale of the hall
A traditional wedding ceremony (must be someone important to hold their ceremony in such a prominent shrine)
A local drawing group camped out on the opposite shore
It’s nice to visit some of the other temples/shrines on the island too

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After we had toured through the shrine, it was about 4 PM. We had some time to kill until sunset, so we aimlessly wandered around; inadvertently we had a small adventure along the way…

Hidden between two buildings were a winding set of stairs...

Hidden between two buildings was a winding set of stairs…

That led up to this beautiful area with sakura trees!

That led up to this beautiful area with sakura trees!

Looking back down the stairs

Looking back down the stairs

A small pagoda next to the stairs

A small pagoda next to the stairs

She caught this as it floated down (lucky!)

She caught this as it floated down (lucky!)

The view from hill

The view from up top the hill

My second favourite picture in the set

My second favourite picture from Miyajima

We made our way back down the hill just in time to catch the view at its best!

We waited for sunset, and the view did not disappoint! It was beautiful!

It was beautiful!

Goodbye, Miyajima~

Goodbye, Miyajima~

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After this trip, PL and I parted ways for two days — she sent her parents back to Osaka (they were flying from Kansai International Airport), while I took a long-distance bus from Hiroshima up north to Tottori Prefecture!

Until next time, Hiroshima!

Until next time, Hiroshima!

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Category : Japan, Travels
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