Dating Underwater6. Three Views of Japan

Miyajima is a tiny island, about two miles wide and six miles long. Most of the island is wooded mountains surrounded by small beaches. The village at the pier probably looks just like it did during the Edo period, only with electricity and paved roads.

Rather than the scenery, most people go to the island for the temples. They are everywhere, from a large Shinto shrine that sits directly on the water at high tide to tiny boxes perched up in the middle of the forest. When my ride from the hotel dropped me off downtown, I walked through the village for a few minutes before I wandered along the shore and met a few deer. They wanted some food, but so did I. They were as friendly as cartoon deer that never have to worry about hunters, but they were hungry, so they moved on to other people as soon as they realized I was not going to feed them.

Walking along the shore, I noticed the Itsukushima Shrine torii jetting out of the water. It was hard to miss. It was painted red and stood out with the blue water and sky behind it. There were also dozens of people taking pictures. Around the corner from the torii was Itsukushima Shrine itself, an impressive building and unlike any Shinto shrine I had ever seen. Instead of a tall, dark building, it was spread out flat and painted the same vermilion red as the torii. Red is the common color for torii, but every Shinto shrine I had ever seen was brown/black.

The Itsukushima Shrine is so important to Miyajima that the island's name is actually Itsukushima. Everyone just calls it Miyajima. Even the signs from the Hiroshima pier said that the ferry went to Miyajima. As far as I could tell, the only time anyone ever used the word Itsukushima was in reference to the shrine and/or torii. The locals call the island Miyajima, so that is what I call it.

I wanted to go inside the shrine, but it was large and I was hungry. At the other end of the village, there was a row of restaurants. Not surprisingly, they all served Japanese food. Miyajima has a lot going for it, but one of the things I liked best was that there was not a single McDonald's, Starbucks or anything even remotely resembling a corporate chain store. The tourist shops in the village were owned by the people inside and the restaurants were all local. Maybe the Shinto and Buddhist buildings were part of a larger organization, but this was an independent town. Even the hotels were independent. There was no Hilton on Miyajima. The only trace of the corporate world I saw were the drinks in the public vending machines. Miyajima is Japan, so there were vending machines all over the place.

After lunch, I spent entirely too much time in the shrine. I knew when Hisoka was coming back to Miyajima, but I did not know what his plans were. If he wanted to show me the holy sites, he was too late. From Itsukushima, I went to Senjokaku and the Five Story Pagoda, Daiganji, Kiyomori and several smaller Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines.

I was back at the hotel by the time Hisoka arrived. I probably could have met him at the pier, but he was not expecting me there and I would have had a hard time spotting him in a sea of unfamiliar Japanese faces. It never made any difference, since his plans were as far away from the village as you can get and still be on the island.

Hisoka thought I would appreciate the views from Mt Misen, the highest point on the island. And he was right. The ropeway to the top was two separate cable car lines, but unless you have all day and a case or two of water, you might not want to hike it. The view from the top of the ropeway was spectacular, and it was not even the top of the mountain. There was still another half mile hike and 300 feet up.

From the station, you can easily see dozens of islands in the Seto Inland Sea and large chunks of Shikoku and Honshu, with obstructed views of Hiroshima. You can also really appreciate how long and high the cable cars ride. It is not ideal for people with acrophobia.

There are several temples along the hike to the top, which provide welcome spots to rest and plenty of places to buy water. Mt Misen is a sacred mountain overlooking a sacred island, so anyone interested in Buddhism will have plenty to experience. It is also the best spot outside of the main village to have a few dozen deer nudge your hands for food.

The last temple on the way up is pretty small. Beyond that, you walk under, through and over some big rocks. The views from the peak are unbelievable. According to Japan, Itsukushima's torii is one of the “Three Views of Japan”. The torii is nice, and looks good with the water backdrop, but from the top of Mt Misen, you have a 360 degree view of everything you would expect from an island surrounded by other islands. The Seto Inland Sea is stretched out in almost every direction and Hiroshima is plain as day. Had I known anything about the city, I probably would have recognized several buildings. You can also look down on most of Miyajima.

Mt Misen was the kind of natural environment where I could have easily spent the entire day, had the last cable car not headed down at dusk. Quite reasonably, they do not want too many people up there after dark. Hiking back down at night would be an equal combination of dangerous and stupid. I'm sure the deer also want some private time. There are a lot of them. They have to come from somewhere.


I took pictures, of course, but my crappy cellphone camera does not do this place justice. These are pictures from other people, whom I can't credit because I don't have any names/agencies. Their equipment was much better than mine, but these images are still a pale imitation of how it looks in person.