Miyajima – a small island in the Inland Sea and the last stop on my tour of Japan – is not a name that many people know, but you’ve probably seen several images of it without realising. Along with Tokyo’s neon lights, Mt Fuji’s majestic peak and Kyoto’s geisha, the huge vermillion shrine gate which rises out of the water just off its shore (Miyajima translates directly as ‘Shrine Island’, though its formal name is Itsukushima-jinja) is one of the most photographed sites in Japan, adorning the covers of hundreds of brochures and guidebooks. Yet few foreigners bother to visit, despite the fact that it’s only a short journey from the mainland.
That’s not to say the island is undiscovered by the hoards – the ferry which runs every hour or so from nearby Hiroshima is packed with Japanese day-trippers: groups of uniformed school students chattering on mobile phones, elderly couples wrapped in coats sharing bento boxes on the blustery deck and young families laden with rucksacks and picnic bags. But free from cars and city noise, it’s still a tranquil and serene place.
The shrine is in fact the first sight that greets you as the boat inches into the dock. At high tide its towering form is reflected in the water and the bright hue stands out starkly against the sky, no matter whether it’s cloudless and blue or dark and stormy. Waves lap around its base and wash towards the shore, flowing under the arched bridges of the nearby temple, whose red colonnaded walkways and lantern-lit halls jut out over the water. The sheer beauty of it all makes this a popular marriage spot; when I visited a wedding party was posing for pictures on one of the verandas, the men sporting formal kimono and the bride clad in a voluminous Japanese wedding hood.
The shrine and temple are not the only reasons to venture out to the island; it’s also home to a herd of tame deer, who amble silently around the wooden pagoda-d buildings and wander through the pine trees. Many visitors also come to sample the island’s three delicacies – fresh oysters, anago (an eel-like fish which is fried and battered) and fried donuts in the shape of maple leaves. The latter come with a variety of sweet and savoury fillings, but few of the labels are translated so it’s hit or miss as to what you end up with – I was hoping for chocolate, strawberry or perhaps even cream cheese, but ended up with fish eggs.
There’s plenty to occupy you for a day, but if you have the time to hang around after most of the tourists have departed you’ll be rewarded with views of the shrine at dusk, when the orange sun seems to set it alight against the darkening sky.
Chances are you’ll see pictures of it many more times in the future, but nothing beats experiencing this magical sight in the flesh. It was a fitting end to a fascinating trip.
