On Top of Miyajima Island

Never in my life have I walked as much as I did while in Japan. Each day I was there, I walked anywhere from 20,000 – 30,000 steps and this was a good thing. A very good thing. (So good that I hope I can attempt to walk that many steps every now and then in the states.)

One of my most intense “walks” in Japan would have to be while on top of Miyajima Island (Hiroshima, Japan). Yes, while on top of Miyajima Island.

My travel companion and I had originally pondered the idea of hiking from the grounds of the island all the way to the top of the island. This of course didn’t happen. Due to time constraints, we decided it was best for us to take a one-way ropeway trip to the “top” of the island. I honestly was feeling a bit chicken about this since I had never been on a ropeway before but sometimes, there’s a first for things and this just happened to be one of those times.

Ropeway fare paid (1000 yen / $10 USD), we waited for a shuttle that took us and the natives (non-Miyajima Island natives) to the bottom of the ropeway or Momijidani Station.

I will admit that a lot of thoughts were going around in my mind when I first got inside the cable car with 5 other people (travel companion included). The first 15-20 seconds of the ride wasn’t so smooth and because of this, I just could not help but to ponder how I would manage to tolerate the ride if it were to continue to not be a smooth one. Fortunately, it was a very smooth ride. I must say that it’s not a ride you want to partake in if you’re claustrophobic, though.

As I began to get comfortable in the cable car, I began to take selfies. (Don’t worry as I wasn’t the only one doing this. My travel companion was doing this, too. The other passengers (natives) weren’t doing the whole selfie thing though and probably thought we were a bit bizarre… Bizarre we were, I suppose.)

The highlight of the ride wasn’t so much of the view or being able to get to the top of Miyajima Island more quickly, but more so that passengers in cable cars coming down the ropeway would smile at me and wave at me. I had a nerve to wave back. lol Considering the fact that I had dealt with enough people giving me glares/dirty looks for whatever strange reason, I found this to be a nice and welcoming change. Yes, say hello to me, people. WTF. I’d rather deal with a chatty person than a person that glares at me for no apparent reason. (Er, okay, to be honest, I’m not really sure if I’d actually want to deal with a chatty person 24/7, though.)

For people afraid of heights, I can’t really advise you on whether you should take the Miyajima ropeway or not. If it helps, you can’t see below your feet (the floors of the cable car aren’t transparent) and if it’s being able to see what’s directly underneath you that gives you anxiety, you should be OK on the Miyajima Ropeway. But if you want to play it safe, you can opt to hike to the top of Miyajima island instead. It’ll probably take 1.5 hours to get to Shishiiwa Observatory (or Shishiiwa Station of the Miyajima Ropeway) from the bottom of the island.  Not bad, if you don’t mind an uphill hike.  Keep in mind that if you want to hike further up (say up Mount Misen) upon reaching Shishiiwa Observatory, the hiking time will be longer. I couldn’t help but to overhear a group of gals from London sharing that they spent 2 hours to get to the top of Mount Misen. (I find that impressive.) They were ecstatic about having completed the hike up Mount Misen, but obviously tired. So tired that one of the gals from the group asked if they could take the ropeway down instead.

I share the Londoners’ experience with you because I personally think it’s best to take advantage of the ropeway in order to avoid the uphill hike. There of course is nothing for you to consider if you plan on purchasing a round trip ticket on the Miyajima Ropeway but for those that want to experience both a hike and a ride on the ropeway, I strongly recommend you to take the ropeway to get to Shishiiwa Station. Why? Because the hike will be a lot easier coming down. I can say this because I did it and will share about the experience (quite an experience, actually) in a future post of mine.

In the meantime, enjoy my photos taken at Shishiiwa Observatory!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Miyajima Ropeway, say for a future trip to Miyajima (Itsukushima) Island, here’s their link: Miyajima Ropeway.