Itsukushima

Today is our last full day in Hiroshima before returning to Tokyo. I have enjoyed visiting the city and have especially liked the hotel. It is very comfortable and more what I was used to from my days of travelling here on business. It's interesting that Ben's favorite hotel remains the one in Kyoto, which reinforces my thoughts that it is mainly intended for younger travelers.

Apart from the Peace Museum, the other main attraction in this area is the Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima. The island is also known as Miyajima (shrine island), so that gives a clue to what else there is to do there. Granted, there is a cable car that carries visitors to the top of Mount Misen, which is optimistically named as it falls 245 feet short of the recognised definition of a mountain. Similar to Nara, wild deer wander the foreshore on the island, bowing to the tourists, ever hopeful of a bite to eat. Fortunately, there are not so many as were roaming the grounds of Todai-ji and the footpaths are consequently far less hazardous. 

A torii gate marks the sacred entrance to a Shinto shrine. Its spiritual purpose is to act as a boundary (kekkai) separating the secular human world from the divine realm of the kami (spirits). Passing under a torii purifies worshippers as they transition into the sacred space. The main torii of the Itsukushima shrine is one of the most recognisable images of Japan - a huge vermilion gate standing alone and seeming to float in the sea. If you have seen postcards or guide books about Japan, it is likely that you've seen a picture of it. It is hard to put into words what it is like to see it for real. Beautiful, peaceful, simple, serene. It's all that and more.

The Itsukushima Shrine torii is an engineering marvel, dating back to the 12th century. The current gate (the 9th) was built in 1875 and is over 16 meters tall. The massive wooden pillars simply rest on the seabed, held in place by the gate's own weight (about 60 tons). It has withstood centuries of tides and typhoons by sheer mass and the ingenuity of the craftsman who made it. But for what purpose? In ancient times, the entire island of Miyajima was considered so sacred that ordinary people were not permitted to set foot on its soil, for fear of defiling holy ground. So when the shrine was built on the shoreline, its torii gate was placed out in the sea, allowing pilgrims approaching by boat to pass through and enter the shrine without ever treading on the sacred island itself.

We were back in the hotel just after lunch and spent a couple of hours in the bar area relaxing and reading books on our Kindles (mine is a Kobo but you get the idea). These clever wee electronic devices have revolutionised the art of holiday reading, and globally must significantly reduce the carbon footprint arising from lugging books halfway round the world. As the time got nearer 5 pm, I did catch myself looking across to see if the staff had started setting up the drinks table. A word to the wise - the important thing in a free bar is to plan ahead. There is no need to fill your glass to the brim as soon as the bar opens. Pouring a modest amount allows you to make a second visit that doesn't end in you falling off your bar stool.Read more