Miyajima[links]

October 30, 2000

Just a ten minute ride via JR Ferry (free for those with a JR Pass) is Miyajima.  It's a beautiful little island getaway, long held sacred by the Japanese.  I read that in the past, the island was held so sacred that births and deaths were not allowed on the island.  So, the pregnant and gravely ill were quickly whisked away to the mainland.

Approaching on the ferry, we passed the famous waterbound Torii gate, standing nearly 60 feet tall.  It reminds the traveler that the island is basically a large shrine.

We strolled through the little town and shopping areas, then decided we'd take a stroll.  We had read that at the top of Mt. Misen there were monkeys, and that sounded like fun.  So, rather than taking the cable car, we decided to hike it.  Here's Elaine's account:

"We decided to take one of the paths up to Mt. Misen, thinking it would be a 20 min easy walk.  Well, easy turned into not so easy and then kinda hard, and 20 min became 30 and then 50min.  We weren't prepared for the tons of steep stone steps and switchback paths and the distance.  We were wearing Birkenstocks.  We fought the temptation to turn back, and marched on, finally breaking out of the trees and into some beautiful views after about 1hr.  We continued down, then up again to the summit - 529 meters (1750 ft).  The view was incredible...pictures won't do it justice.  The mountainous islands looked like Never-Never Land and stretched beyond sight."

At the top, we did indeed find cute monkeys, although they made no bones about trying to pick your pocket.  A large male walked right up to me and tried to grab my camera bag.  Luckily, I had a good grip on it.  I got to keep it.

We decided to take the cable car down, despite somebody's fear of heights, and more specifically, of falling, hanging, or otherwise tempting fate from heights.  But, Elaine sucked it up and managed to get me into the thing, which really wasn't so bad.  In fact, it was quite relaxing, in a white-knuckled kind of way.

At the bottom cable car station, there was one of those wooden models with the face cut out, in the shape of a sitting Samurai.  Clearly, they're meant for kids, but I couldn't resist.  I knelt behind it and Elaine snapped a picture, to the absolute delight of an older Japanese couple nearby.  They laughed and smiled at us, then the gentleman proceeded to perform the same trick for his tickled wife.

As we walked the slight descent back toward the main town, we passed a little restaurant, and were persuaded to partake of some beef curry and rice.  It was a very good idea.  The food was hot (by now we had cooled down), and the green tea was lovely.  The tables we sat at were raised, and each seat was a tatami mat, made for kneeling (no shoes please!).  It was a very nice experience.

We checked out the shrine and milled around for a while, then snapped a few more photos and headed back to Hiroshima.  We grabbed our bags and headed for the train.  Before taking off, we hit the bottom floor of a shopping mall and grabbed some chicken yakitori, sweet and sour chicken and green beans, and some steamed rice.

If only we'd known, we may have skipped going...to Nagoya...

Miyajima Links:

[ Main Page ]

One of the neat sights of Miyajima comes into view as you approach on the ferry.  This beautiful Torii gate is 60 feet high.

Elaine commented that this looked like Never-Never Land.  For us, it made the hour long climb worth it.

View the larger image and you'll see more clearly the monkey clinging to the sign.  They were just everywhere, grabbing at camera bags and generally being naughty.

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a close-up shot of one of the monkeys.  Is this guy's face red from anger or embarrassment?

Don't ask....hey, I'm a kid (or samurai?) at heart.  The red lettering on the bottom right says "ropeway", what we'd call a cable car.

After our descent, we stopped for curry at this nice place.  It was a wonderful meal.