To Miyajima Island

People come to Miyajima Island for its floating tori. It’s a tori that thrills people simply because you can actually walk to the tori when the tide is down. The thing is, Miyajima Island is home to more than just Itsukushima Shrine’s tori. There’s quite a number of things you can see and do by foot here. As always, I didn’t get to do and see everything I wanted to while I was on this island but here’s what I encountered while on the grounds of Miyajima Island.

Before you can get to Miyajima Island, you’ll have to take a ferry of some sort to get there. It’s not a very long ride but it’s something to keep in mind should you want to maximize your time in exploring the island. If you’re heading to the island from outside of Hiroshima, know that it will take a while to get to the stop for the ferry.

The vastness of the sea aside, one of the things you’ll notice upon setting foot on Miyajima Island is that there’s a good amount of deer. Unfortunately, these deer aren’t friendly. While I don’t think they’ll bite you, they won’t be approaching you either. They come off wild and seem quite different from the deer in Nara. The best way to describe them is that they’re in their own element here and probably do not rely on humans for food.

Talking about food, there’s quite a number of places to eat from on the island. If you’re vegetarian/vegan, I would advise you to stay away from restaurants as the bulk of them seem to specialize on seafood dishes. I happened to end up eating at a restaurant and was a bit unhappy with what I had for lunch. While it was vegetarian friendly, it wasn’t exactly a meal as it was just dessert.

I was not in any way feeling the red bean dessert. For starters, sweets aren’t meant to be a meal, especially when I’m planning on doing some hiking afterwards. Secondly, I am not fond of red beans. A lot of people I know adore read beans but I am not one of those people. Dorayaki, anyone? No thanks! Unlike me, the person that was with me had a legit meal.

It was after I had dessert for lunch that I encountered food stalls selling typical fair food items. I honestly wished I had run into this spot earlier. It was cheaper and it was more to my liking. I ended up buying fries but no longer had an appetite. (I just kept the fries for when I’d get hungry later.)

I don’t think I caught sight of a convenience store on this island, so if you’re thinking of packing convenience store goodies for your trip, it is in your best interest to get hold of the items prior to getting onto the ferry.

Walking around the island, you’ll run into statues, stands for photo opportunities, nature, hiking trails and more. Although the island may look small, it actually is quite big if you’re trying to get around by foot only. For example, an aquarium exists at the other end of the island and I didn’t even come close to that part of the island. Of course, there really isn’t much of a reason to venture to that side of the island unless you have plans to visit the aquarium.

Overall, the vibe on the island is pretty good and I think a lot of it has to do with the island being sacred. The bulk of natives visiting the island are here to see more than just the floating tori. Many may harbor positive vibes as they head up to the top of the island for spiritual purposes. Not only is the view nice up there, but there are trails that lead you to religious sites.

If you plan on visiting Miyajima Island, arrive early so that you can do and see a lot while the sun is still up. Once the sun sets, you’ll want to be extra cautious as poisonous snakes exist on this island.