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May 27, 2007

We spent the night in a youth hostel in Hiroshima and continued our adventures there today. After about five different busses, trains, and finally a ferry, we arrived on Miya Jima island, one of Japan’s most beautiful places. We were immediately greeted by the island’s local deer, which were eager to make friends. We posed for pictures in front of the famous orange gateway, which greeted the gods and invited them to enter the island. Miya Jima has numerous Buddhist and Shinto shrines and temples, and we explored many of them. One of the features of the island was a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Unfortunately, at the beginning of our visit, there was a thunderstorm and the gondola was closed due to bad weather. Not deterred by bad weather, a couple of us decided to hike up the mountain on foot. Little did we know that it was one-and-a-half miles of stairs straight up to the top! Our reward at the top was a temple that featured a fire that had supposedly been burning for 1,200 years. Later on, the weather cleared up and some of us rode the gondola to see the view. The other highlight of the island was shopping. In addition to the gift items, we tasted the local sweets that Miya Jima is known for. Each region has a trademark food, and we’ve taken it upon ourselves to try as many as we can!