Miyajima Island

From Peace Park in central Hiroshima, we spied a little canal boat with a sign boasting rides to Miyajima Island. And since I love a boat ride, we decided to see what it was all about.

As it turns out, Miyajima, a colloquial nickname for 'shrine island', is famous in Japanese lore. The actual name of the city is Itsukushima and it's apparently one of Japan's top three scenic sites. Home to a stunning shrine, a population of outgoing wild deer and the world's rice largest spatula, what's not to love? 

Bathroom signage!

Besides the giant wooden spoon, our first major encounter was with the wild deer. Warning signs across the island warn you in various languages that the deer eat everything--food, shoelaces, maps straight from your hand. They walk straight up to you:

Several times throughout the day we turned to hear the surprised shrieks of tourists who couldn't quite believe that the deer were so bold. It's very clear that the deer are in charge here. 

Because it seemed the summer for UNESCO World Heritage sites, we made our way to Itsukushima Shrine and the famous floating toril (flotation is tide dependent). The toril was the first thing we saw upon our approach and appeared as some kind of Moses-like apparition: 

Itsukushima Shrine itself floats at/above the water. The buildings are all open-air and connected by a series of wooden planks. Red is the predominant colour and various vantage points offer moments for quiet repose: 

Sake casings in the shrine: 

Looming in the distance of that shrine, lies several other religious buildings, pagodas, perhaps. 

But the humidity was rising and the elevation in places made walking something quite sweaty so we decided to head to the beach on the opposite side of town. This involved a mini-bus that, despite the scorching weather, was still 'out of season.' June is not beach season in Japan. The Japanese are a very rule-abiding people. This is how we found ourselves as one of three (Western) couples on a beautiful little strip of beach. Unfortunately the water was somewhat infested with jellyfish, which kept our swimming to a minimum. But it sure looks pretty:

Had we wanted to see it, Miyajima Island could have offered us a lot more: hikes up big hills; gorgeous food; shrine upon pagoda upon religious relic. We settled for a ferry and bus ride back to Hiroshima where we promptly hid from the heat.