Overnight, it rained a very serious sort of Japanese rain, leaving the laundry on the balcony we thought we were brilliant for doing before Osaka still quite wet. We stashed it in the bathroom and turned on the ventilation fan with hopes of getting it passably dry during the day, and then we headed to nearby Miyajima.
Miyajima: home to deer, maple leaf-shaped filled pastries, a giant torii (gate) in the water and accompanying shrine, and as it follows for this trip, a mountain, Mt Misen. We at least climbed this thing on purpose, as opposed to the other days of surprise mountains. I am going to have the best buns and thighs after these mountains.
At first I was a bit sad that the weather wasn’t going to cooperate for our trip to Miyajima, but the light rainclouds became a boon upon our arrival. They left wispy trails swirling up and down the mountain valleys, adding to the mystique of the shrine and gate.
Before crowds got crazy, we approached the gate and explored Itsukushima shrine (Shinto). Both are painted a brilliant vermillion, maintained with care by the monks in residence. The torii is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Japan, and when viewed from the water with Mt Misen behind it, the torii is one of the “three views of Japan.” I did not know this thing even existed. Are the other two Mt Fuji and Tokyo Tower? Taiyaki and ramen? Sleeping salarymen on trains and girls with selfie sticks? Nope. For the curious, they are this and this.
We wandered to the island’s aquarium, which showcases a variety of local ocean life. The island is famous for oysters, and the aquarium taught us the floating things in the bay were the oyster farms. We saw lots of sea cucumbers, crabs, carp, and weird lion fish, plus a neat exhibit on jellyfish and a fish tank that was the cast of Finding Nemo.
The last time I was here, I got to pet a penguin. The penguins sadly did not come out to play for hours, so I had to sate my appetite for marine wildlife with a sea lion show. They were pretty cute and incredibly well-trained. At the end of the show, they had the audience kids throw rings at the seals for the seals to catch around their necks. This tiny child went all the way up to the top step of the amphitheater, threw a ring, and miraculously the ring accurately went to the seal to catch. He must have been a plant!
After seals, we headed to the Mt Misen ropeway, which is a series of a gondola and a funicular that bear passengers nearly 500 meters up Mt Misen. Mt Misen is a date spot, with a shrine to love about halfway up between the funicular and the summit.
We huffed and puffed up to the summit and observatory, which provided us with a breathtaking (ha ha! ha…) view of the bay and surrounding area. We spent time at the summit resting and admiring our hard-earned view before deciding to take the manual route down instead of the ropeway: a 50 minute hike down 525 meters.
Mt Misen is a sacred mountain, and the forests on it are nationally treasured primeval forests. Ferns sprouted everywhere, moss grew on most available surfaces, and a relaxing trickle of water was ever-present for most of the hike. What started as a tiny stream grew to larger collections of water, which were carefully dammed and released at controlled intervals to protect against erosion. Sometimes, the path ran next to the water, and other times we found ourselves hopping over the stream as it ran back across the stone path.
Jelly-ish legged but triumphant, we made it to the momiji (maple) forest at the start (or finish) of the climbing path. The trees in Miyajima had not really started to turn, with the notable exception being this small area of maple trees.
Tired, we headed back to the ferry and to central Hiroshima, where we revisited the festival we had found yesterday. Dinner was food on sticks from many vendors hawking buns, fruit dipped in candy, roasted dango, teriyaki meats on sticks, pastries, curry fries, mini pastries shaped like characters that people seemed willing to wait for a long time for, and lots of other food on sticks common to Japanese festivals. I got okonomiyaki on a chopstick. It was heavenly.
Before leaving, we followed the thrum of drums to the taiko drummers. We wormed our way to the front after a performance finished and enjoyed the performance from a few feet away, their powerful beats physically reverberating through the crowd.
Tomorrow, we’re off early on the shinkansen to Himeji (a giant castle, which happens to be open this time, unlike the last time I was there), and then on to Osaka. Oh, and the laundry is still wet!