The Five Yen of Happiness! Visiting Itsukushima – Miyajima Island

The Five Yen of Happiness! Visiting Itsukushima – Miyajima Island

• I give in – I need a break (Introduction)
• To Heathrow and The BA Galleries North Lounge
• BA902 London Heathrow to Frankfurt Airport in Club Europe
• Bumbling around Frankfurt Airport with random #AVGeek spotting
• Meeting the A350 and the Air Canada Lounge
• Qatar Airways QR068 Frankfurt to Doha
• The joy of Hamad International Airport, and The Oryx Rotana Hotel
• Qatar Airways Flight QR812 Doha to Tokyo Haneda
• The Hotel JAL City Haneda Tokyo
• Shikansen Adventures to Hiroshima!
• Time in Hiroshima (featuring the ANA Crowne Plaza Hiroshima)
• Hirosihima – 70 years on
• A day trip to Itsukushima
• More Shinkansen fun to Kyoto (Featuring Kyoto Tower Hotel)
• A trip up to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine
• Dinner with The real_jetsetr!
• The JR Central SC Maglev and Rail Museum
• Shinkansen to Tokyo
• The Strings by InterContinental
• Cheap evening – From the Tokyo Metropolitan Building
• The JR East Railway Museum, Saitama
• Shibuya nights
• Akihabara Days
• Gotta Catch them All! A few Pokemon Centres.
• Off to Narita
• Nartia Airport, The JAL Lounge
• Qatar Airways Flight QR807 Tokyo Narita to Doha
• Four and Half Hours in Doha Airport
• Qatar Airways Flight QR067 Doha to Frankfurt
• More time in Frankfurt
• BA8735 Frankfurt to London City Airport (Club Europe)
• Homeward
• Memories
• And about that Five Yen Coin – The Sensoji Temple, Asakusa

If you’re in the Hiroshima area, there is a day trip that you’ve got to take. And its to Itsukushima. Itsukushima is sometimes called Miyajima Island – translated “Shrine Island”, and is home to one of the Three Views of Japan.

Getting there: There are a few ways to get to Itsukushima. One way is to take a direct ferry from Hiroshima port for a 22-minute ride (¥1800 on way). If you have a JR Rail Pass (or want to take the train from JR Hiroshima) it’s a ¥410 train, and another ¥180 for the ferry). You’ll need to get off at Miyajimaguchi station and walk across to the ferry. There’s two which go every 10 minutes or so – one operated by JR West (which if you have the rail pass is also free), or Matsudai ferries (who also charge… ¥180).

The inbound train… and a posh one at that (for the Train Otaku, it’s a JR West 227 series)

The ride to Miyajimaguchi is a reasonably long one – so grab a seat, and watch the urban sprawl on the left or the urban sprawl and some mountains on the right. I’d sit on the right if you can.

Urban Hiroshima. As I said before. Ferro-Concrete land.

Once you get to Miyajimaguchi station, exit and follow the signs.

Or if you’re really looking for directions – look for the Torii.

If you need to get your ferry ticket, do so – and then just follow the signs.

When ready, the crew will allow you to board. Cars do have priority first, so be careful.

And then board. Head to the top deck, and use your eyes where to sit/stand.

And if you pick the right spot, you’ll be rewarded with the sight of the Torri in the Sea.

Once on the island, it’s very much walk around by foot time. And so it should be – for there are wild deer everywhere!

Everyone exploring…

This deer was hungry it seems. And also cleaning so they could get in.

This one was very hungry. So much so – it thought my Qatar Airways purple luggage tag was food. Turns out it isn’t .

This dear is just resting. Oh deer.

The great sea Torii

More deer.

Entering the Shrine area.

It was time to wander into the main Itsukushima Shrine. For ¥300,  I was let in to this holy site.

Water to cleanse ones-self before entering the shrine.

The main temple.

The shrine itself is on the water and a very peaceful place – even with lots of tourists around.

The great Torii from the Shrine.

Those bright oranges in the temple

And a clear view of the Great Sea Torii.

I love the juxtaposition of the Torri and the lamp in this photo.

The shrine is a holy place at the end of the day. According to Wikipedia, it is dedicated t the three daughters of Susano-o no Mikoto, Shinto god of seas and storms, and brother of the sun goddess Amaterasu (tutelary deity of the Imperial Household).

Japanese Shrines are businesses too – here you can get blessed items which will bring good fortune and luck.

Of course, you can get fortunes. Some of them can be bad – so you tied them here to leave the bad luck behind.

 
The exit of the Shrine.

Another view of the Great Sea Torii.

Of course, you can hire someone to take you around traditionally.

Once done there are other things to explore – such as a mountain trek, the Pagoda or the Shopping Street.

No, I wasn’t in the mood to climb.

The five storied Pagoda.

And there’s the shopping street for all your nick-nacks.

This is the world’s biggest rice stirrer  – called a Shamoji – invented in this area

 
Even Hello Kitty who loves your money as well as friends has an outpost here.

Eventually, with my legs a little more than weary, I headed back to the ferry terminal and back to Honshu and back toward Hiroshima.

Inbound JR West Class 113. A lot more classic than some trains I’ve ridden!

Overall: If you want an experience that is peaceful, un-rushed and brings you one of the greatest sights Japan has to offer – a trip to Itsukushima Island is one of those things. It’s easy to reach from Hiroshima and a great way to soak up some of the spirit of Japan.

NEXT: Hiroshima 70 Years on / Off to Kyoto

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