We took the most direct route to Miyajima Island and that was by ferry. The tides here can change as much as 10 feet, so the ferry can not run at low tide or at high tide. We arrived at the island at low tide so there was a few hours long gap when the ferry was not running. So off exploring it is! The Itsukushima Shrine is built over the water and has many adaptations to deal with the tides. There is even part of the shrine that floats during high tide. The iconic gate in the water is has also been tailored to be able to deal with the tides and with waves. Once on the Island we visited a local craft shop and then made out way to the big red gate. There were lots of people on the island with us and we picked a few less traveled routes. Joining us were many deer looking for some food. This was only a problem when we stopped to eat our sandwiches. I had to get up from our bench and keep two deer away from our picnic. They were wily and tried the divide and conquer technique but I prevailed. We saw folks that did not deal with the deer so effectively. One guy had a deer on his right munching on the product in his hair while another on his left managed to steal his ice cream cone. We took the first ferry back after the resumption of service and the line was super long.
The sister ship returning
Only 15 folks rode out with us
Low bridges
Old time toll booths
Local fishing boats
Sea birds to spare
Another fishing boat
Vast stretches of oyster farms
A good landing spot for a black kite
A balding island
What sort of buddha is housed in this large building?
Limestone outcrops
A lone lantern
Our first sea gates
Sitting high and dry in the low tide
So many bigger ferry boats
In the folk craft shop
Carving and wood turning is big here
Warbling white eye
Carved bridges
This one was particularly nice
I bought one of these
Barn Swallows were everywhere
A tunnel for two
Deer!
So many of them
They are known for oysters and goofy deer hats
Lucky frog
The rick-shaw guys were dressed for a warmer day
Very large ceremonial buildings abound
The red pagoda
A huge temple complex and a stone gate
The water gate
The ever present deer
Barn Swallows
At low tide the people can walk right up to the gate
We are getting closer
The island is pretty big
Pretty crowded too
The stone gate
With the protective lions
This gate is very tall
This one is even taller at almost 55 feet tall
Made from camphor trees and cedar trees
The main pillars have a circumference of 30 feet
We are enjoying our excursion
Photobomb!
There was a long line to get to the O-Torii Gate
It is absolutely gigantic
There have been 8 different sets of gates erected since 1875
A gap in the people
Stepping stones
This is a close as out non-waterproof shoes will allow
Using the scarf to block the people in the background
Use the zoom!
Heading back to dry land
The size is really amazing
When the people are specks, it hits home
We visited a folklore museum housed in an old soy sauce factory
Lock up the valuables
A nice garden interior
Well that was an interesting photo
There were no pictures allows of the folklore or the local artifacts but I could take a picture of the movie they were showing. This shows th cedar pilings used as the bast to the pillars
There were small scale models of these festival boats
The fire festival must have been something to behold
1000 monks!
How many torches I wonder?
In the "newer" section photos were allowed
It was still old stuff in this section
Big headed Bill
A newer shrine
Just about every other building has a ceremonial aspect
What I could do with this driftwood!
The treasure hall
Water management is very important
The bridge to the Itsukushima Shrine is over that water during high tide
Looks like a good spot for lunch
Oh no! Picnic crashers!
A huge hollow log
Passing the pagoda on our way back
Al the horse, Al Bino that is
These giant rice spatulas are very popular
The scent of wisteria is sweet
Osprey with a fish
The line to return
How they packed 60 people on this boat, was amazing!
Egrets were standing on the oyster shell conveyor belts
A lonely boat
Kids will be kids
Men will be kids too
