Well, first things first, we rode the Hiroshima tram in the morning to get to the ferry station. I'm not used to seeing trams (in fact, I've only seen it a couple times in life), but it doesn't seem to be the ideal form of transportation to me. The system is clean, as it is everywhere in Japan, but it's rather slow to me (perhaps, I've just gotten too used to JR trains). It was not crowded at all, even though it would be rush hour in Tokyo and NYC. What was cool though, were the Monster Inc. dolls decorated all throughout the tram. Probably used to promote the movie coming out soon, but you could never have those in NYC because they're get stolen or destroyed. One of the things I love about Japan..
Photos taken from the ferry. Too bad it was such a cloudy day, or you'd be able to see the beautiful mountains in the background.
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| Welcome to Miyajima! |
And the local sweet here is... momiji manju! Shaped like a maple leaf (hence the name momiji, which means maple), it tastes like every other red bean pastry I've have in Japan. The only difference is the shape. Well, the ones I tried above had the koshian, the smooth red bean filling. The left one is yaki-manju (fried) and the right is normal. Another thing you'll notice is how many souvenir shops there are! Comparable to the amount of shops at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto (and believe me, there were a lot). You might be unsure of which one to walk in, but honestly, all of them are about the same. They all sell pretty much the same things, and none make their manju any different than the other.
Another thing is the deer! Maybe because it was a hot day, or maybe it was just early, but most of the deer were just snoozing off. Unlike the deer in Nara, though, Miyajima deer were much more contained. They didn't follow people around, harassing them for senbei, but they still bowed to you when you approached them. Physically, they looked different, more fairy-like, in my opinion (can't pinpoint what exactly, though), and their fur was much softer, much like that of a fox!
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| Did you know? Itsukushima, as Miyajima was called before it merged with Hatsukaichi City in Hiroshima Prefecture, is one of the Three Views of Japan, Japan's three most celebrated scenic sights. |
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| And this is the famous floating torii of Japan, seen is many guidebooks to Japan, it is almost a symbolic representation of the country. |
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| looks small, right? |
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| when in actuality, it is actually humongous! |
I made it! Successfully walked across and stood under the torii. Luckily, the tide wasn't so high yet, though it had already risen well above my knees by the time I reach back to the shore.
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| The water rose pretty quickly–you could feel it as you make your way to the torii. The sand beneath my feet became increasingly loose. |
There were also a lot of these isopods, which never fail to creep me out, but what can I do after going in so deep ? I can only hope that the prickly things I feel on my feet every time I take a step is nothing else but sand.
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| View of Hiroshima; I can only wonder what that white edifice I see between the clouds and the city is. Could it be Hiroshima Castle? |
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| And I must do a before and after. This is Itsukushima Shrine during low tide at ten in the morning. |
Our next activity on Miyajima was to climb Mount Misen. Though you can physically hike up the mountain, there is also a ropeway you can take that will get you to a point thirty minutes to the summit. Had it been any other day, I would have chosen to hike up the mountain, but as a means to conserve time, we chose to ride the ropeway.
At the end of the ropeway, there is a nice rest stop. There was this Satellite of Lover's Sanctuary, which looked immensely familiar to me. After thinking back, it really was something I had seen before, because it was created by the same person who created the Lover's Sanctuary in Atami, Yumi Katsuura. With this "satellite" as she calls it, though, each person stands on either side of the pillar and presses the button at the same to to ignite the flame, that represents eternal love!
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| Not only that, there was also a place where you could make your own momiji manju! ¥100 discount for couples. I tried to get in as a couple with my friend, but we were ineligible, as we were not really a couple. D= Was it worth it? It wasn't exactly fun or exciting because all you do is put the manju together (the bread and filling is already made for you). Plus, the instructor was a grumpy old Japanese man, who was quite impatient, so I didn't really enjoy it that much, but it is much more worth it to make you own than to buy the ones in the souvenir shops, imo! |
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| The Lion Rock |
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| Seto Inland Sea You can see all the neighboring islands of Shikoku from here (Mount Misen summit). Wish it was a clear day! |
At the top of the mountain, there is a temple, called Daisho-in (大聖院). It was founded by the Buddhist monk Kukai in 806, during his visit to Mount Misen.
The traditional custom of stacking rocks on top of one another. Fun fact: they're called cairns, a common practice hikers like to do. In the ancient times, they served as mile posts and road markers.
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| 干満岩, the "ebb and flow" rock. At 500 meters above sea level, the water in this rock is said to change its water level according to the come and go of the tide. |
This is the Eternal Flame that has been burning for 1200 years. This is the same flame that was used to light the eternal flame at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
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| And this is the after, four hours later, around two in the afternoon. This is the highest the water reaches and the shrine seems to be floating on the water. |
The five-story pagoda in the background. I always wished these pagodas were open to the public. I've seen numerous ones in Japan and China, but never have I ever seen one that people could enter.
Of course, not surprisingly, there was a wait line for taking pictures.
We decided to look for a place to eat. Hiroshima is known for its oysters, as I mentioned yesterday, so we decided to follow the recommendation of the guide book and looked to eat at a place called kakiya (kaki, meaning oyster). And it took us forever to find, because we didn't know that the shopping street was different from the main street. Anyway, because we were running out of time (we needed to catch a specific train), we only had fifteen minutes to order, eat, and get to the station. I must say, I'm surprised we made it in time. Though it was painfully hard to enjoy and savor the food, these are one of the things that you later realize is a joy in traveling.
Oyster onigiri
Doesn't that look amazing?? I assure you, it was.
I forget what these oysters were called because we were in such a rush, but I can still remember the taste..!
Grilled oysters, omg.. they were so good. So juicy, and it looked amazing. After biting into it, you can see the inside of the oyster.
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| And this is how they are grilled: over an open fire! |
And the famous shamoji, wooden rice scoop. This is the largest wooden rice scoop in the world. About 7.7 meters in length, 2.7 meters thick, and 2.5 tons, it is made from a 270-yea-old Zelkova tree. The scoop took three years to construct.
We left Miyajima around three in the afternoon and made it in time for our train. The ride was really long, about four hours, but I slept most of the way. We reached our destination at Shimonoseki, which is a stopover to our real destination to Beppu.
Honestly, there's not much to see or do in Shimonoseki. The only thing I really know about Shimonoseki is its historical context in the Treaty of Shimonoseki. Other than that, I really don't know anything about the place. Shimonoseki is known for its fugu, though, which is a type of poisonous fish, whose toxins can paralyze every muscle in the human body and kills you. The flesh and skin or completely harmless, though, but chefs must be specially licensed, have several years of apprenticeship, and take a rigorous exam that has a 70% failure rate.
At the hotel we stayed at, called Hotel Wing International Shimonoseki ($82.11/night, full bed and bathroom), there was a restaurant right inside the building. There were also restaurants outside, but fugu is quite expensive, going well into the ten-thousands(yen)! So we opted for the cheaper alternative. Plus, we could order into our rooms. So the set meal I ordered was the fugu deluxe, consisting of everything fugu: fugu sashimi, fugu salad (yubiki), deep-fried (fugu karaage), and steamed. My friend ordered a different set that had the other <infamous> local specialty: whale (kujira). Shimonoseki has been the base for some of Japan's controversial whaling expeditions.
So my thought on fugu? It's pretty good. But I am a fish lover, especially when it comes to sashimi. Fugu was really chewy and more flavor came out as you chewed. As for cooked fugu, it wasn't anything special. The meat was actually quite rough, not something I would order again.
And my ultimate disappointment of the day: I didn't see any wild Japanese monkeys. :(
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