In the Land of the Sacred

Small Shrine near the Itsukushima Shrine, Miyajima Island
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We're here because of Guatemala.  Yes, really.  It goes back to a photography workshop I attended in Antigua, Guatemala in 2002.  Led by Doug Beasley, we explored "the spirit of place" for ten days or so.  Doug, of Japanese ancestry, had just published a collection of photographs on his first trip to Japan, entitled "Japan: A Nisei's First Encounter."  The first photograph was of the floating Torii Gate off of Miyajima Island.  It was an ethereal photograph and I knew I had to see it in person someday.

Five-Storied Pagoda by Day, Miyajima Island
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And that someday was 4/1/08.  Our Hikari SuperExpress bullet train to Hiroshima, with a change of trains in Shin-Osaka, was fairly quick, precisely on time, and uneventful except for the awesome view of Mount Fuji.  A quick connection to the local JR Sanyo Line brought us to Miyajima-guchi station, the connecting point to the Miyajima Island ferry.  A ten minute crossing brought us directly by the Torii Gate and resulted in the first dozen or so photographs (of probably a hundred or more) that I shot (no, carefully composed) of the Torii during our 2 day stay on the island.

A brief aside - a Torii, an icon of the Shinto faith, marks an entrance to the sacred precincts of a shrine.

The Shopping Street, Miyajima Island
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A brief aside - a Torii, an icon of the Shinto faith, marks an entrance to the sacred precincts of a shrine.  Miyajima Island is considered a sacred island, thus the Torii in the harbor.

Besides our wonderful stay in the Miyajima Hotel Makoto (see separate listing on my RealTravel blog), we wandered about the central part of the island - visiting shrines - both small and large, walking up to the five story pagoda, and taking the tram to near the top of Mount Misen, the island high point.  Day trippers, which make up most of the island's visitors, filled the downtown shopping and eating street midday, but as dusk neared, the town quieted down considerably, and the nighttime and early morning strolls were ideal.  Few visitors stay on the island for more than one night, but a two-night stay is perfect - allowing plenty of time to see the "sites" and plenty of time of experience the "sacred" of the island.  We also took advantage of the midday crowds to leave the island and take a quick afternoon trip to see the sacred or profane of Hiroshima's ground zero.

Itsukushima Shrine and the Torii Gate
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The combination of our stay at the Hotel Makoto, the small town-rural feel of the island and the ever-present Torii gate made this the most outstanding two days of our Japanese sojourn.