My visit to Miyajima last year was rushed as we were on a cruise and we had to make it back to the ship before it leaves port. This time around, we spent the night on the island, and was able to enjoy the place after the day tourists were gone. I had hoped to get sunset and sunrise shots of the floating Tori gate, unfortunately neither happened. We could do all the planning we could around timing, tide tables, sun times, best time of year, etc., but we have no control over nature - at least it didn't rain! Them's the breaks.
It didn't take us long to get to Miyajima from Kyoto, via the faithful Shinkansen and the local Hiroshima train, then a short ferry ride - we were able to get there before noon. We managed to hit Kakiya, the iconic oyster place, before the lunch time crowd. This full course oyster lunch, with oysters cooked six different ways, was and still is the highlight of my two visits to the island.
We walked through the Momijidani Park with fall colours at peak, had a coffee break in a beautiful tea house with a zen garden before we climbed the many steps to the Daisho-in Temple, attracted by its unique caves at the top. The temple buildings surrounded by fall colours gave me good reasons to stop and take photos while catching my breath.
We were lucky to have made reservations at the Watanabe Inn, a traditional Japanese Inn, family-owned for the last 100 years, the current owner being the 4th generation. We had a spacious room on the upper floor looking down on the garden. This room got turned into a bedroom while we were eating dinner. We enjoyed a delicious kaseki-ryori home-cooked meal, dressed up in the provided Japanese costumes. The warm Japanese hospitality in the lovely inn was a unique experience for us on this trip.
The iconic Itsukushima Shrine is a changed place after 4pm. The stunning red walkways again visible without the crowds and the Tori gate thankfully floating and isolated by the high tide. While there was no sun set visible, it was still an awesome sight to see it at night. Knowing that there likely won't be a sun rise either, I got up early nevertheless to indulge in one last experience of the shrine in the morning. The tide was receding and there were avid visitors determined to be the first to get out there once the gate is clear. I did not stay to watch that happen, with last year's memory of the crowds at the gate still vivid in my memory. The peaceful evening and early morning on the island was a real treat.
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Floating Tori at high tide from land
and from the ferry (below) |
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| An unusual green metal Tori gate, probably copper |
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| Oysters cooked six different ways |
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At Momijidani Park |
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Entrance to tea house cafe and its zen garden |
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Daisho-in Temple |
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| Dragon carving under roof of pagoda |
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| At the top of all the steps is the Henjokutsu Cave with 88 Buddhist statues representing the temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, with sand from each site buried beneath them, allowing visitors to gain the same blessings as completing the pilgrimage by walking through this cave. (from Google AI) |
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| Our room at the Inn |
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| Transformation at night |
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| One of the dining areas at the Inn |
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The Itsukushima Shrine |
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| Offering hall |
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| View of the floating Tori from the shrine |
