Inside Itsukushima Shrine
Before going to Miyajima, you should prepare for a journey in time when the warriors built the first shrine on the island. And even if you have visited Japan, Miyajima will appear to you in a different way than you expect. It will be as if you have travelled back in time, a few hundred years ago, on an island where everything seems stuck in time, from the houses dated since the Edo period (1603-1868) to the people, most of them elderly.
Where is Miyajima?
Officially called Itsukushima, it is an island on the west side of the Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of the Gulf of Hiroshima, a 30-minute ride from Hiroshima station. Most often, it is called Miyajima, which was, in the past, the name of the town on the small island. Miyajima literally means Shrine Island, which is part of Nihon Sankei (Three Views of Japan) and is also one of the World Heritage sites in Japan.
Is it really a boundary between the mundane and the sacred?
I walked to the station that morning with the filmy sky; the rain scent was sneaking under my shirt, and the sunlight was diffused. I grabbed a few things: my camera, a book, and a snack, ran to catch the train and pushed my way through the crowd. Everyone was hiding under umbrellas, trying to avoid the cold weather. I found a seat next to the window. The train seemed to be carried by the wind among the provincial cities, the scenic country landscapes with traditional Japanese houses, and the rich rice fields coated in gold dust. I took my book to read but soon forgot about it. The view of the Japanese fall took my breath away, I was leaning my forehead against the window, looking out. After 30 minutes of travelling on a local train, I arrived at the small and cosy train station, Miyajimaguchi.
I found the pier easily, located just a few minutes away from the station. I bought a ferryboat ticket from a vending machine for just 180 yen. I sat in a row on a wooden platform built in the traditional style and waited for a few minutes to be on board. The ten-minute ride on the water was a pleasant experience.
Although the breeze was strong and cold, all travellers, most of them foreign tourists, were crowded around to take as many pictures as possible. The most sought-after was the Torii (traditional Japanese gate found at the entrance of a shrine altar, symbolizing the passage from profane to sacred), one of the biggest tourist attractions on the island. I was curious to see that floating gate. In my mind, I couldn’t imagine it. I was searching the horizon for a glimpse, and then, there it was, far away on the right side, so beautifully coloured in red, imposing and silent, like a charming sea goddess.
What you see first when you step on the island are the dozens of deer walking freely among people in search of food or just resting under the pines that surround the National Park Setonaikai. They are gentle and always eager for attention. They are venerated animals in the area and are considered sacred, real messengers of the gods in Shinto religion. However, Miyajima’s deer are always hungry, so be sure to secure your bags, as they will try to steal your food.
The floating shrine
In Miyajima, the day can pass quickly. There are so many things to try that a single day wouldn’t be enough to experience everything.
You could lie down on the beach and watch the beautiful traditional gate or the temple Itsukushima, which is also built on water, leaving you with the unreal feeling that it is actually floating on the waves.
You could start to search for souvenirs among the dozens of shops with all kinds of goods: small figurines of deer, Torii, temples and shrines, wooden spoons, amulets, plates of all sizes hand-painted by locals, key chains, stuffed toys and so on.
You could also visit all the temples:
Gojunoto (Five-Storied Pagoda) is a beautiful fusion of Japanese and Chinese architecture.
Senjokaku (Hall of One Thousand Tatami Mats) (Toyokuni Shrine) is the biggest building in Miyajima. Its size is equal to the area of 857 tatami mats.
Daiganji Temple is dedicated to Benzaiten, the goddess of eloquence, music, and wealth. - Last but not least, Daishoin Temple is a Buddhist temple built at the foot of Mt. Misen.
If you get hungry, you can also stop on the street from where you can buy croquettes, nigiri ten (a kind of fish paste on a thin bamboo stick) garnished with slices of ham, oysters, shrimp, lotus root, squid, burdock root, kaki furai (deep-fried oysters), baked chestnuts or ice cream.
You can choose from a full-menu restaurant, from the famous sushi to local delicacy dishes, okonomiyaki (Japanese pork pie with cabbage), oysters and fish prepared in various ways. Another speciality of the area, which you can find in any season, is Momiji manjū, a pastry product usually filled with azuki cream (a type of reddish-brown coloured bean), jam, chocolate cream, vanilla or cheese in the symbolic shape of the maple leaves.
In Miyajima, there are so many maples that, when the fall arrives, the island seems to be covered in many colours, strong shades of red, ocher, yellow, and cobalt green. And maybe you can see the beauty of it in the photos, but any photographer can't capture the real show. And if you read these lines, let me tell you, you have to go there and see with your own eyes to feel the magic of it.
If you leave behind the gate, the temple, and the pagoda and walk away from the tourist area, if you have the guts and slip through the narrow streets, among the small houses, you will find relaxed people living their ikigai (a Japanese concept that means "a reason for being.”), you will feel the soul of this unique part of the world. A city stuck in time, cut off from the world, full of history, with deer on the streets, with wooden roofs, with women dressed in kimono, and small vegetable gardens. A small city with 2,000 residents, of which only 100 are children, but where around 3 million tourists come every year. Smelling of bamboo-flavored wood, moisture and kinmokusei (sweet olive) flowers, Miyajima is the island where “People and Gods Live Together”.