Hiroshima - Miyajima Island and Itsukushima Shrine

Miyajima Island and its famous attraction, the Itsukushima Shrine, are just another 40-minute streetcar ride from the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

The gate to the shrine (the Torii) was built out in the water to designate the entire island as a holy Shinto place. The gate and the shrine were originally built in the 6th century and have been re-built several times because of its unique design. They are built in a bay that fill us during high-tide and virtually dries up at low-tide.

This shrine has been named one of Japan's three defining sites of the country.

This is what is advertised... the "Floating Gate" and the "Floating Shrine" But I got there right in the trough of low-tide, so this is what I saw...

The layout of the island...

As seen from our ferry ride:

As you can see, the entire structure is built on stilts to give the appearance during high-tide that the shrine is floating.

A five-level pagoda on a hill that overlooks the shrine.

One of the fun things at low-tide, however, is to walk out and see all the shells and sea critters. It was fun watching everything move. It was even more fun to watch the kids play with them.

The are lots of these mini-deer all over this place. They are considered sacred in the Shinto religion as they are regarded to be messengers of the gods.

Watch out! Sometimes these deer have territory battles...

Lots of fun alleys with various shops... There are a couple of specialties here on the island. One of them are the clams. Here's one of the line for clams...
And here are my clams. They are touted for their freshness. How were they? Well, they tasted like clams and the only thing they're good for is clam chowder.

I couldn't tell if this guy was wearing glasses or safety protection, then "CRACK!" Something on one of the clam shells exploded on the grill. Thanks for wearing safety goggles and not posting that its dangerous for us to watch the clams cook.

"So Tim, why can't you fly any more?" "Uh, well, I was buying some clams that were being grilled and the shell exploded right into my eye." I'm glad I don't have that story to tell...

This is the other food specialty of the island... these small cakes with various fillings. They are in the shape of maple leaves because of the island's famous maple trees and their brilliant colors during the fall.

I wish I would have counted how many of these little cake baking machines that I walked by... I would guess 15 or so?

Fun little machines to watch working...

but the MBA in me thinks it's very inefficient... no economy of scale!

So I'm also going to add Hiroshima to your must see list of places in Japan. The Peace Memorial Museum and Miyajima Island can both be done as a good day trip. The only suggestion I have is to check the tide forecast, I would rather have seen the shrine during high-tide.