I wanted to visit the Itsukushima shrine during low and high tide. I had to wake up early to catch the first train and a connecting first ferry (fully covered by JR pass) to the island. Miyajima is about 30mins away from Hiroshima by JR train and a connecting ferry which takes 10mins to the island. The morning started to pour as I head towards Miyajima ferry terminal and it got heavier as I reach the terminal. I had to miss the first ferry as I needed to use the toilet and get some light breakfast as my other objective at Miyajima is to trail up Mt Misen.
It was still pouring heavily as I boarded the ferry and within that 10mins ride, it turned to drizzle. As I step out of the ferry terminal, I was awed by the view of the cloud covered mountains and the view of the torii gate from a far. Since it was still drizzling, I just bashed through the rain towards the floating torii gates.
Standing at the edge of the low tide, was a majestic monument. I followed some people onto the sand and walked towards the gate. That was something I would regret not doing.
After a couple of pictures, I noticed that the drizzle was getting lighter. I walked to the rope-way hoping to go up by cable car and walk down the mountain but due to the weather, the rope-way was not operational. Hence I decided to trail up and doing the vice-versa.
The start of the trail was so beautiful with the falling of red/orange leaves together with a calming stream of river flowing down the mountain. The track was gradient until it got to steep steps. It was a 2.5km trail up to the top and I started panting at 1.5km. That was the reason for not exercising or preparing to conquer this hike. I had to stop every 100m to catch a breather as I walked through passing clouds.
Along the way, I met with some wild deer and a couple of shrines. Once on top of Mt Misen, I was practically the only one as the shops were empty. However, there was a guard at his post at the construction of the viewing deck. I then realized that the weather condition still would not permit the operations of the rope-way hence the reason of no one at the top. I bet the guard was also waiting for his colleague to relieve his post. Since the rope-way was non-operational, i had no choice but to walk back down.
Going down was easier and I took a different route. I met some people hiking up and tried some greetings in Japanese until they returned me some questions. I did make out the question but struggle with sign language to reply. That's for not preparing my Japanese language for this trip (too stress up with school and work to study Japanese).
With only a cup of coffee and a slice of baumkuchen, I was famished as I made my way down. I was searching for food once I reached the bottom and chanced upon a souvenir food stall. I just bought a pack of 6 azuki pancake and gorged down 2 with a bottle of isotonic drink.
When I decided to try a local coffee roaster, their menu set consist of pasta served with grilled oyster. As I was famished and that was the heaviest meal they had, I tried the local delicacy. Confirmed, not a fan of shelled fish as I just swallowed it down. At least I tried local delicacy.
Making my way to the ferry terminal, I revisited the floating gate which was now high tide. The sea covered the sand I once stood in the morning. There were more tourist now and a bunch of deers were camping around the tourist. I'm surprised that it didn't ran away as I got closer. That was the first time I got close to a wild animal and actually pat on it too.
Miyajima has been a wonderful experience. I would recommend coming here with someone ambit not to climb Mt Misen if they're not interested (Take the rope-way instead). It have great activities lined up with great scenery. I would love to try their rotenburo (outdoor bath) looking up the mountain, if I can find one. Definite recommendation to visit if you're at Hiroshima.
