Floating Shrine of the Sea
Our Kanto trip has finally came to end but we still had a day left on our rail pass. Tokyo's clustered metropolis was becoming too hectic for us, we needed space! We headed back home to Kansai to refresh ourselves and soak in the hot bath, topped off with a few cold ones to clear my head.
Next stop - Hiroshima! Our first move would have been finishing off the Kyoto sights but we head one whole day that would fit most of the sights in Hiroshima, which I haven't really explored in my previous trips. A couple of things come to mind when I think about Hiroshima - The Karps and Hiroshima-yaki (Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki). Well, what a surprise it was when I stepped out of the station when I was bombarded with Karps flag hanging in front of okonomiyaki shops.
I'll touch back on city details later, let's get some fresh ocean air at the ferry loading docks of Miyajima. Our first destination, before stuffing ourselves with okonomiyaki ,was crossing from mainland Japan to the island of Miyajima. JR runs a ferry boat every 10 minutes that carries a handful of cars and groups of tourists. Here is the first part of our day exploring Miyajima.
The best part of riding shinkansen is being able to get glimpses of the terrain of each region. If you're high enough you might even be parallel level to the horizons which can intrigue you with some unique sights of Japanese space and architecture.
Hiroshima sure loves their baseball team! When arriving to Hiroshima station, wet got a killer view of the stadium from afar, home of the Karps.
You can't visit Miyajima without being tempted every 5ft. with the smell of oysters grilling. We caught oysters right at the tail end of their prime season before it started to get warm for spring.
After a little snack to keep us going, we needed some sugar to fuel the trek through the hills. The path to the main shrine is filled with smells of Miyajima specialty foods and snacks. We found this little shop with our noses, the scent of deep fried manju lured us in.
What you see on the right sight is deep fried manju with maccha soft serve and azuki sweet beans in a waffle cone.
Miyajima is also known for it's natural habitats that roam freely around and interact with the tourists. They don't mind nor do they mind you petting them, but as a warning: watch your back, these guys will sneak up behind you and snatch whatever smells delicious in your hand or pocket.
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