[Japan Travel]: Miyajima - Part 1
It's time for the next travel entry.
Again, I had to split it into two.
This time it's really no wonder, though.
I mean we're talking about MIYAJIMA - one of Japan's top 3 views! And that in
SPRING!!! I couldn't resist and took too many photos XD
Miyajima Day 1 (part 1) (April 3rd, 2010):
In the early morning I left Hiroshima and took the train to Miyajimaguchi from where you can take a ferry.
There are also streetcars going there. They're cheaper than trains, but take much much longer! (^-^')
I arrived at Miyajima quite early at about 9am and intended to stay until sunset - I had one whole day. That's why especially at the beginning of the day, I was quite slow with everything on purpose.
I was waiting for high tide which was around noon that day (^-^') <~ you can take the best photos of the red gate when it's high tide!
Nobody actually listened to that sign! I saw a lot of Japanese people, esp. kids touching the deer. The deer of Miyajima were not as aggressive as the ones in Nara - that's my impression at least! XD
I left them alone and only took some photos from far away XD
Unlike in Nara, you also couldn't buy food for them. In Nara you could interact with the deer more ;P
Slowly getting closer to the red gate. SLOWLY!!! I stopped every two seconds to take another shot XD
It was just so beautiful!!! (*___*)v
For some extra money you also could take a boat and slide through the red gate XD I didn't do it, though XD
Stalking the red gate XD
One of the boats is about to go through the gate.
And another deer. They all enjoyed the nice weather - they almost look like cats when they do that, no?! XD
Waiting for the high tide, I didn't want to go too far from Itsukushima Shrine yet, so I decided to hang out at Senjokaku and the Five-Storied Pagoda a bit.
It was sooo beautiful with all the cherry blossoms and I soo have to go again in autumn this time! I still have NO AUTUMN PHOTOS IN JAPAN AT ALL!! (°_____°'') ....
Haha! Got ya! XD
Doesn't that make you wanna lie next to the deer under the cherry blossom trees? ;o;
The Pagoda again, but in fact ...
.. I fell in love with this awesome sakura tree!!! (*_*)v
Marry me!
Close-up.
Close-up #2 (*________*)v
As it was close to noon already, I decided to slowly go back in order to get into Itsukushima Shrine.
You can see in that photo that it was almost high tide anyways.
But then I met these cuties and spent some more time stalking them XD
I was afraid that I might have to wait and stand in line as there were so many people earlier who wanted to get in as well ...
I didn't have to wait, but it was really crowded inside and you couldn't move freely in there. Everything took quite a long time. I used that time to stalk people XD
You can also see the pagoda from here.
Getting closer to the gate or rather a good spot to take a photo of it. That's why it WAS so crowded. For high tide, Itsukushima Shrine is your best bet!
There was even a wedding going on that day!! It was crazy! XD
Getting closer and closer.
v(≧∇≦)v イェェ~イ♪
Can you see the gate? XD
Don't ask me how many photos I have of the gate alone! XDDD
The water was going back again already :/
And then I left the shrine and went along the beach and took some more photos of the gate.
I also took a break, sitting at the beach, staring at the gate, while eating nutritious bars and stuff (no lunch for me ;o; ..) (^-^')
The deer are taking a break the whole day it seems! XD
They want to go through the gate as well :)
On my way to yet another pagoda, I saw this awesome tree!
Sakura everywhere! (*_______*)v
That's the 5-storied pagoda I went to earlier and the exit of the shrine I just came out of XD
That's one of my favorite photos. It's not really a good one. Me sucks, but the scenery was so beautiful! ;o;
Finally reached Daisho-in Temple. Awesome view from up there!
The weather that day was just so awesome! It was a perfect day - weatherwise!!!
I can't believe it was raining like WOAH in Hiroshima 2 days before that O_O;
Oh, these colors~!!! (*_*)
I also went inside one of the buildings where they had an exhibition of cute figures, mainly from Hina Matsuri, but not only. They charged an entrance fee, though!
There was one female "guide" inside and she was literally chasing after me! (x___X'')
Although she heard that I speak Japanese and praised my Japanese, she continued to use her English on me and even kept asking: "How do you say [insert Japanese word or sentence] in English?"
Very annoying. I tried to be polite and explained that time was running out and I had to move on (x___X)>
That's the building that hold the exhibition from the outside. Beautiful, huh?
I loveS random shots! XD
About the statue with the long nose: Tengu, with wings and long noses, have been considered to possess supernatural powers since ancient times. Various Tengu legends and faiths were created, leading them to deification. Tengu are indispensable to the holy sites on mountains.
Yay, the new camera didn't mess up the candle photo! (^-^)>
These green thingies are actually moving and you're suppossed to move them with your hand when walking up or down the stairs. In one of the previous photos you can see people doing it.
It's called "Mani Wheel" and is believed to invite blessings equivalent to reading one volume of the Hannya-shinkyo, or Heart Sutra.
That's the Henjyokutsu Cave. In this dimly lit cave are the sand and the principal Buddhist icons of the eighty eight temples of the prestigious pilgrimage route on Shikoku. Worshippers believe that they are given the same blessings as people who make the pilgrimage to all the temples on the route. (how unfair! XD)
Shaka Nehan Hall. The photo shows Shaka Nyorai, or Shaka Buddha, entering Nirvana surrounded by his sixteen disciples.
Here you can see the "Dai-hannyakyo Sutra" the people are touching and moving with their hands while going up the stairs to the temple (I was leaving at the time I took the photo btw.)
Cameras used:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Pentax K-x
The Pentax photos seem to be wider as their height is shorter.
After that I went to the ropeway to get to the top of Mt. Misen which promises an awesome view, but this will be up in part 2 next time.
I hope you're looking forward to it. It'll be one of my fav entries, I guess.
Thanks for reading! (^-^)/
ヾ(=・ω・=)o☆Baibuu~
Again, I had to split it into two.
This time it's really no wonder, though.
I mean we're talking about MIYAJIMA - one of Japan's top 3 views! And that in
SPRING!!! I couldn't resist and took too many photos XD
Miyajima Day 1 (part 1) (April 3rd, 2010):
In the early morning I left Hiroshima and took the train to Miyajimaguchi from where you can take a ferry.
There are also streetcars going there. They're cheaper than trains, but take much much longer! (^-^')
I arrived at Miyajima quite early at about 9am and intended to stay until sunset - I had one whole day. That's why especially at the beginning of the day, I was quite slow with everything on purpose.
I was waiting for high tide which was around noon that day (^-^') <~ you can take the best photos of the red gate when it's high tide!
Nobody actually listened to that sign! I saw a lot of Japanese people, esp. kids touching the deer. The deer of Miyajima were not as aggressive as the ones in Nara - that's my impression at least! XD
I left them alone and only took some photos from far away XD
Unlike in Nara, you also couldn't buy food for them. In Nara you could interact with the deer more ;P
Slowly getting closer to the red gate. SLOWLY!!! I stopped every two seconds to take another shot XD
It was just so beautiful!!! (*___*)v
For some extra money you also could take a boat and slide through the red gate XD I didn't do it, though XD
Stalking the red gate XD
One of the boats is about to go through the gate.
And another deer. They all enjoyed the nice weather - they almost look like cats when they do that, no?! XD
Waiting for the high tide, I didn't want to go too far from Itsukushima Shrine yet, so I decided to hang out at Senjokaku and the Five-Storied Pagoda a bit.
It was sooo beautiful with all the cherry blossoms and I soo have to go again in autumn this time! I still have NO AUTUMN PHOTOS IN JAPAN AT ALL!! (°_____°'') ....
Haha! Got ya! XD
Doesn't that make you wanna lie next to the deer under the cherry blossom trees? ;o;
The Pagoda again, but in fact ...
.. I fell in love with this awesome sakura tree!!! (*_*)v
Marry me!
Close-up.
Close-up #2 (*________*)v
As it was close to noon already, I decided to slowly go back in order to get into Itsukushima Shrine.
You can see in that photo that it was almost high tide anyways.
But then I met these cuties and spent some more time stalking them XD
I was afraid that I might have to wait and stand in line as there were so many people earlier who wanted to get in as well ...
I didn't have to wait, but it was really crowded inside and you couldn't move freely in there. Everything took quite a long time. I used that time to stalk people XD
You can also see the pagoda from here.
Getting closer to the gate or rather a good spot to take a photo of it. That's why it WAS so crowded. For high tide, Itsukushima Shrine is your best bet!
There was even a wedding going on that day!! It was crazy! XD
Getting closer and closer.
v(≧∇≦)v イェェ~イ♪
Can you see the gate? XD
Don't ask me how many photos I have of the gate alone! XDDD
The water was going back again already :/
And then I left the shrine and went along the beach and took some more photos of the gate.
I also took a break, sitting at the beach, staring at the gate, while eating nutritious bars and stuff (no lunch for me ;o; ..) (^-^')
The deer are taking a break the whole day it seems! XD
They want to go through the gate as well :)
On my way to yet another pagoda, I saw this awesome tree!
Sakura everywhere! (*_______*)v
That's the 5-storied pagoda I went to earlier and the exit of the shrine I just came out of XD
That's one of my favorite photos. It's not really a good one. Me sucks, but the scenery was so beautiful! ;o;
Finally reached Daisho-in Temple. Awesome view from up there!
The weather that day was just so awesome! It was a perfect day - weatherwise!!!
I can't believe it was raining like WOAH in Hiroshima 2 days before that O_O;
Oh, these colors~!!! (*_*)
I also went inside one of the buildings where they had an exhibition of cute figures, mainly from Hina Matsuri, but not only. They charged an entrance fee, though!
There was one female "guide" inside and she was literally chasing after me! (x___X'')
Although she heard that I speak Japanese and praised my Japanese, she continued to use her English on me and even kept asking: "How do you say [insert Japanese word or sentence] in English?"
Very annoying. I tried to be polite and explained that time was running out and I had to move on (x___X)>
That's the building that hold the exhibition from the outside. Beautiful, huh?
I loveS random shots! XD
About the statue with the long nose: Tengu, with wings and long noses, have been considered to possess supernatural powers since ancient times. Various Tengu legends and faiths were created, leading them to deification. Tengu are indispensable to the holy sites on mountains.
Yay, the new camera didn't mess up the candle photo! (^-^)>
These green thingies are actually moving and you're suppossed to move them with your hand when walking up or down the stairs. In one of the previous photos you can see people doing it.
It's called "Mani Wheel" and is believed to invite blessings equivalent to reading one volume of the Hannya-shinkyo, or Heart Sutra.
That's the Henjyokutsu Cave. In this dimly lit cave are the sand and the principal Buddhist icons of the eighty eight temples of the prestigious pilgrimage route on Shikoku. Worshippers believe that they are given the same blessings as people who make the pilgrimage to all the temples on the route. (how unfair! XD)
Shaka Nehan Hall. The photo shows Shaka Nyorai, or Shaka Buddha, entering Nirvana surrounded by his sixteen disciples.
Here you can see the "Dai-hannyakyo Sutra" the people are touching and moving with their hands while going up the stairs to the temple (I was leaving at the time I took the photo btw.)
Cameras used:
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 and Pentax K-x
The Pentax photos seem to be wider as their height is shorter.
After that I went to the ropeway to get to the top of Mt. Misen which promises an awesome view, but this will be up in part 2 next time.
I hope you're looking forward to it. It'll be one of my fav entries, I guess.
Thanks for reading! (^-^)/
ヾ(=・ω・=)o☆Baibuu~