Nightfall in Miyajima must be beautiful

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Wow I’m behind! I’m writing day 3 on day 6. The days have gone by so quickly but each and every day has been very very long. We’ve been waking up at crazy hours in the morning because of the jet lag and perhaps old age. Take for example day 2 in Hiroshima. The both of us automatically woke up at 4am for some strange reason. We made efforts to go back to sleep but we were wide eyed. This is pretty much how it’s been for the last several days. Only last night did I manage to sleep in a bit longer till 6am. If I could only wake up this early for work each day.

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We noticed that the cities are much more tranquil and beautiful at the crack of dawn so we’ve been taking advantage of our morning routine. We wander the neighborhood of our hotel in search of a family restaurant or pretty much anywhere that serves breakfast. We usually end up not finding anything so early and resort to quick “convini food”. It’s not so bad I guess.

The train stations are also less frantic at this early time so we’ve taken a liking to getting a head start. We’ve also gotten a bit addicted to the variety of bento boxes sold at the train stations so we make a point to grab lunch and a drink from the vending machine. This has bode us well as we’re not paying an arm and a leg to sit at a cafe that serves 2 pieces of toast for $8.

view from our ryokan
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Anyhow, where were we on day 3 you ask? We hopped on a ferry to beautiful Miyajima. It is a quick 20 minute ferry ride from Hiroshima. We stayed at a very grand ryokan called Iwaso. It is where royalty stays. The ryokan was built in the 1800’s and has been frequented by royalty and very notable people. There was a photo of mother Teresa on the wall along with emperors and kings of many nations. It is said in the guest book that Helen Keller even stayed here. A private van came to pick us up with a driver that looked like a ninja (well that’s what Rod thinks). He took us up this windy mountain road surrounded by sakura trees with specs of the harbor through the clearing. The view was breathtaking. I wish we could capture it on camera but no photo would do it justice. You’re going to have to see it for yourself.

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Iwaso ryokan is the oldest and first ryokan built in Miyajima. For this reason, it is situated in the best location on the island. It is set in on the hillside away from the bustling ferry harbor so it is very peaceful even during the day. However, it is a pleasant 15 minute walk to the main village so it is a very convenient stay. You can refer to my stand alone hotel review for details on the ryokan. At ryokans, most meals are included. I knew the meal was going to be grand but was not prepared for what was to come. We were served a 12 course meal in the comfort of our room. She first presented us with a listing of what was going to be served which was written in Japanese (no idea what it said). She then proceeded to serve a few dishes at a time. Every dish was beautifully presented. We figured that although we could not read the menu, we’d know what it was when the dishes arrived. Yah no! One dish had pink fish the size of a string bean with eyes on it, tasting like liver. The other had a fishy paste inside a purple heart valve looking squishy something???? We did recognize the rice and was quite relieved when it came out at the end. There was also a beautiful assortment of sashimi wrapped in bamboo leaves. Rod and I are not too fond of raw fish so we dipped it in the hotpot quickly hoping that the waitress would not catch us. I know it’s very high end sashimi that most people would die for but hey.....to us it tasted better cooked. We had stayed in a traditional room so it is proper to sit at the table with your knees bent (not crossed legged). We were off to a good start and got through the first 2 dishes until our feet started falling asleep. It was pretty funny, we would sit crossed legged just chillin’ until we heard the waitress come back and we’d quickly scurry to get back into our polite stance. By the 10^th course and 2 hours into our dinner, we figured screw it....we’re foreigners! It’s pretty convenient to be able to pull the foreigner card.

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Miyajima is known for it’s orange torii gate standing in the water off the coast of the island. It is one of the most photographed views in Japan. You have to catch it at high tide as at low tide, the torii is surrounded by a muddy shoreline. Getting a good picture is next to impossible as the whole span of the shoreline is covered with tourists.  Asides from a handful of local residents, the rest of the population consists of foreigners and old Japanese tourists. It seems that Rod and I are the youngest by 100 years everywhere we go. We get stared at alot. The main village and souvenir stores are all located along the seawall. It was fun walking through the stores but every store pretty much carried the same thing. Miyajima is known for their maple leaf shaped manju. They were pretty yummy, we bought a few chocolate flavored ones for our train ride home. No other shopping than that. We spent most of our time snapping photos. It’s so beautiful here that even an amateur photographer like myself can take amazing photos. Since the weather was pretty mild and clear, we decided to take the ropeway up to Mount Misen first thing in the morning. (Be sure to read my review on Mount Misen).

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We  also took a tour to cruise through the torii gates at night. The gates and the shoreline are lit up at night and we had the opportunity to pass under the torii which is quite an experience. There is a tradition that needs to be followed so the boat did one full circle in front of the gate and we were all required to stand up, put our hands together and bow and stay in silence while we passed through the gates. I’d like to say that this was a once in a lifetime experience, it was neat, and cold. We got a few good photos. The camera works fairly well at night for a point and shoot camera.

clam digging
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We’re off to Nagoya for 1 night and then on to Ninja city.