The next morning we checked out of our hotel to travel to Miyajima. Before departing, we visited the museum across the street and got our Peter Rabbit fix.
We had a lovely 50 minute boat ride from Hiroshima to Miyajima. Certainly beat going on a commuter train.
As we approached the island, we spied it's main attraction, the Itsukushima Shrine. It is a Shinto shrine on the island of Itsukushima (popularly known as Miyajima), best known for its "floating" torii gate. It is in the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. The shrine complex is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Japanese government has designated several buildings and possessions as National Treasures.
We arrived on the island of Miyajima, and immediately took a ferry like this one the short distance to the mainland to check into our hotel.
The first sight that greeted us as we entered our hotel was this replica of the Itsukushima Shrine. The hotel was very colorful with many displays as seen in the following pictures.
After checking into the hotel and getting settled, we immediately took the ferry back to the island for the major attractions. From the ferry we saw this towering pagoda that we would later see up close.
Miyajima is known for its domesticated deer who roam all through the town and love being petted (and fed).
We spent way too much time with the affectionate deer.
And way too much time shopping.
Jody's always digging me about my love for Superman and she couldn't resist taking a picture of this art.
Normally, the shrine is in deeper water, but it was low tide while we were on the island.
And here is the beautiful 5-story pagoda seen earlier from the boat on our trip over.
At high tide, this town is surrounded by water, but the low tide took care of that.
Hello there!
As we walked through the town we headed for higher ground to take a tram up to the top of the mountain.
Panorama from the top.
While I was taking my panorama shot. Jody was shooting me.
And now we leave the island via ferry and return to our hotel.
And now a night's rest on futons as we prepare for our trip to Kyoto tomorrow.