Sightings of a world traveler: Island

Sunday, 14 October 2018

Miyajima, Japan

Miyajima is an island just off the coast of Hiroshima. It is a 30 minute train ride from downtown Hiroshima and then the ferry takes you quickly across to a small island village.

Ferry to Miyajima, Japan

From the ferry you have a lovely view of the island as you come into the dock. The ride is quick but you can see fishing nets and some birds flying over or in the water.

Ferry to Miyajima, Japan

The village is very quaint and the souvenir shops and small restaurants are busy and there are food stands that sell pretty much every type of seafood you can grill. The island is most famous for the floating torii gate.

Miyajima, Japan

The Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate (厳島神社大鳥居) is set in a small shallow cove of the island. With the changing tides it appears floating at high tide and you can walk right out to it at low tide.

Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate (厳島神社大鳥居)

For our visit it was high tide when we arrived in the afternoon and low tide after our hike in the evening so we got to see both extremes and walked out to the torii gate when it was lit up at night.

Itsukushima Floating Torii Gate (厳島神社大鳥居)

The Itsukushima Shrine (安藝國一之宮嚴島神社) is a floating shrine in front of the torii gate. You can pay to enter it and walk around the outside of the shrine buildings and just admire the building from the outside.

Itsukushima Shrine (安藝國一之宮嚴島神社)

The Toyokuni Shrine five-story pagoda (豊国神社五重塔) is right beside the shrine and it is quite a spectacular red pagoda.

Toyokuni Shrine five-story pagoda (豊国神社五重塔)

You can get up to Mount Misen (弥山) by four different hiking trails or by a cable car that leads partway up the mountain. The view from the top of the cable car is quite spectacular but it is still an hour long walk from there to the highest peak.

Mount Misen (弥山) Cable Car

Mount Misen (弥山)

There are lots of maps along the trails, which are also quite well signed so it would be difficult to get lost here.

Mount Misen Map

Map of Mount Misen trails

We hiked up from the cable car past Misenhondo (弥山本堂) and Dainichido (大日堂) towards the peak. From there we hiked down to Daishoin (大聖院).

Misenhondo (弥山本堂)

Mount Misen (弥山)

The top of Mount Misen (弥山) you have a clear 360 degree view from the rocky peak. They say that on a clear day you can see all the way to Shikoku island but the say was not clear and I could not see the island I call home off in the distance. Many smaller islands did litter the Japanese Inland Sea making the view quite dramatic from all sides.

Mount Misen (弥山)

The trails down to the Daishoin (大聖院) temple are pretty much all stairs. Lots and lots of stairs!

Mount Misen (弥山)

There are a lot of recent repairs ont eh trail to fix flooding damage but it is hard to imagine the tiny trickle of a river running through being strong enough to erode the large soil and sock banks. The fortifications are extensive and large and the new staircase trail runs beside the river at a safe distance but you can see the old trail fell into the river.

Mount Misen (弥山)

From the trail you lookout towards the small town and the shrine with the floating torii gate. As it grew darker and tide fell we saw people walking out on the wet sand.

Mount Misen (弥山)

We just made it off the mountain as sun set. Sunset wasn't spectacular since the day was thick with clouds and we saw pretty much no colour in the sky as it grew dark over the temple.

Daishoin (大聖院)

Dinner at Miyajima Brewery was very small (but tasty) and pricey but the beer was really good. They have a nice view of the ocean and if we had been there earlier it would have been a nice view of the sunset.

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Takamatsu (高松市) and Megijima (女木島)

Takamatsu (高松市) is a small city on Shikoku Island, Japan. I attempted to hitchhike there from Kobe City but in the heat and after hiking down from Mount Maya I ended up giving up after a few hours of trying to find a good spot and failing. I met with my very very patient couchsurfing host at a convenience store just near Ritsurin Garden. From there we visited a restaurant her friend had just opened. It was in a lovely traditional Japanese house that they had restored. The old wood looked really nice and it had a very cozy and friendly atmosphere.

I rented a bike from near Ritsurin Garden Station and biked/walked along the shopping street to Takamatsu Castle Ruin, Historic Site (玉藻公園). I just walked around the castle area, which had a scenic view of the moat and some watchtowers. My goal was actually to visit Megijima so I didn't stop in.

Takamatsu (高松市)

Takamatsu Castle Ruin, Historic Site (玉藻公園)

The port area of Takamatsu is decorated with art exhibitions and is very open and hot but is still lovely to walk around.

Takamatsu (高松市)

Megijima (女木島) is an island just off the coast of Takamatsu in the Seto Inland Sea between Shikoku and the mainland. Two small villages occur here while the majority of the island is taken up by two forested (but small) mountains. The island has man-made beaches and beach houses close to the ferry port. The port has a fair number of birds at it although these are restricted to Gulls, Black-eared Kites, Cormorants and Swallows.

Takamatsu (高松市) ferry to Megijima (女木島)

Black-eared Kite

Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)

Megijima (女木島)

Sights on the island to visit include a lighthouse, campground, a few shrines and an Onigashima Cave. I walked up from the beaches through the town. There is a large stone wall to block the town from wind and the town has many traditional style wood houses with narrow lanes. The town is a bit rundown and many houses appear to be abandoned with their dirt and grass insulation falling out through the walls or their roofs caving in. I imagine that many small towns on the inner sea islands are in a similar state with the current generations wanting to live in larger cities. Despite that there are still a few guesthouses and bead and breakfasts (Minshuku) in the village and you can get food at one of the beachhouses.

Megijima (女木島)

The road through town takes you up to Sumiyoshidai Shrine (住吉大神宮). There were many Black-eared Kites flying above on the thermals and in the heat cicadas were deafening.

Megijima (女木島)

Sumiyoshidai Shrine (住吉大神宮)

At the top of the mountain there is a lookout with a small sakura garden (not in season currently but would be a very scenic spot during the spring. The lookout has a spectacular 360 degrees view of the surrounding area seen through the typical Japanese haze.

Megijima (女木島)

The Onigashima Cave (鬼ヶ島大洞窟) is also on this peak, which is the highest on the island. The cave is quite altered and has many statues in it and at the entrances. This is because Megijima is the Ogre Island from the popular Momotaro legend in which a small boy visited the island in order to fight its resident ogres. The cave is said to have once served as the ogres' fortress. Inside the cave there are a series of interconnected chambers, which display large cartoon ogre statues depicting scenes from the Momotaro story.

Onigashima Cave (鬼ヶ島大洞窟)

Coming back to the port for sunset is lovely. The sky lights up over the ocean and fades behind the mountains in the distance. There are many places to sit and relax while the sun goes down. I didn't get to see the full sunset because I would have been late for dinner plans but I plan to find an excuse to visit again just to see it fully.

Sunset from Takamatsu (高松市)

Sightings of a world traveler

Sunday, 14 October 2018

Miyajima, Japan

Tuesday, 24 July 2018

Takamatsu (高松市) and Megijima (女木島)

Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris)

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