Today we had the chance to visit Miyajima Island which is a sacred island to Japan and is famous for the "floating" tori gate at the Itsukushima Shrine. We started our journey with about an hour long tram ride and then a short ferry ride across part of the Pacific Ocean to get to the island. Once there, we noticed more of the sacred deer roaming around just like we had seen a few days ago in Nara.
The significance of the Itsukushima Shrine and its tori gate is that both were built to look as though they are floating when it is high tide. However, during low tide(roughly every six hours) the stilts below the shrine and gate are visible.
After walking along the shrine complex we rode cable cars up the mountain side to go hiking and visit more shrines. Professor Boss had told us that there was a chance we might be able to see the monkeys that live along the trail. Once the boys found out about this they decided to call the island "Monkey Island" which we all found quite amusing. The trails and the view were breath-taking, and so was the hike! Needless to say, most of us only ended up visiting the first shrine the trail led to, but it was still a fun experience.
When our little hiking adventure was over we returned to the Itsukushima Shrine. It was great timing because not only did we get to see it at high tide but by the time we returned it was low tide. The view was much different but still very beautiful. There were many people walking around looking at the tori gate up close as well and digging for crabs, clams and shells. We also saw one of the sacred deer make its way down the steps to check out the sights.
Although we were a little disappointed the monkeys did not come out to say hi, it was still another amazing day on our trip.
Hope you're enjoying our blogging stories!
-Katie Braun
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