My morning started at approximately eight in the morning, with a blaring alarm and a sucker punch to the arm. I jolted awake, realizing my roommate had hit me to turn off the alarm. So I did- and the day began.
We had a full day ahead of us. We were to take the ferry to Miyajima at around ten, and then do some unspecified things. We got all of our things in order and headed up to breakfast. The hotel offered the complimentary breakfast buffet-style, with rows upon rows of all the breakfast foods you could think of. Eggs, sausages, bread- everything was there. They even offered some less western food, such as miso soup and curry. We loaded our plates and headed to grab a table. The breakfast was on the top floor, which offered us a gorgeous view of the surrounding islands. When we finished, we headed back down and met everyone to catch the ferry.
The ferry was very small compared to the one we had taken the previous day, and the ride was also much shorter. In no time, we were headed into the heart of Miyajima. As we walked down the coast of the island, a large structure seemingly floating in the water became visible. We came closer and realized it was a large gate, named the Torii Gate. During low tide, it can be reached on foot. During high tide, however, the water covers a good portion of the bottom of the gate, and it appears to be floating on the water. We entered the Itsukushima shrine, and as the tide was pretty low, we were able to see the ground beneath the building. There, we noticed small crabs walking around. These were not your average crab though. They had a massive white claw attached to their much smaller brown body. After some research, we found them to be called fiddler crabs. The males have the large claw as a mating advantage, whereas the females look like a normal crab. We stayed watching the crabs move around and interact for a solid chunk of time, probably a bit over a half hour. Then, it was time to go.
Pictured above: Male fiddler crab in the shrine
We proceeded to walk through the small shops on the island. Some offered food, some offered small trinkets and souvenirs. I ended up buying two small cat plushies to put on the dashboard of my car (long story). As we continued walking towards our meeting place, we started getting a little thirsty. Thankfully, there was a shop selling lemonade right in front of us. With our fresh lemonade and new burst of strength, we made our way up the long path to the ropeway.
Once arrived at the ropeway, we all got into small little gondola-like boxes and were carried up the mountain. Not all the way though- that was reserved for the hike. A small group of us continued up the mountain, eager to reach the top. It was a steep and rocky hike, but the most difficult part was by far the humidity. The humidity in Japan is already higher than I’m used to, but in an island forest, it was suffocating. But we pressed on.
Pictured above: View from the top of Mt. Misen
Finally making it to the top, it was worth the hike. Once the fog cleared, we got a gorgeous view of the entire island and the islands surrounding it. The bright green of the forest contrasted beautifully with the calm blue of the water. But nothing lasts forever, and we had to get going back down the mountain. The walk down was almost as entertaining as the walk up, with a small injury on the way. But we finally made it to the bottom. Now, time to wait for the ferry.
With almost an hour to kill, we walked around a bit more, finding things here and there- such as momiji cakes and pistachio cookies (both were delicious). Once the ferry arrived, we all boarded on and headed back to Hiroshima. The ride back was very short, and we were soon sitting on a train bound for Osaka. Although I was not sitting next to my friends, I was sitting near them, which allowed for plenty of entertainment during the ride. Once back at the hotel, we rushed to our room, showering in minutes. Some of the professors had invited us out to dinner with them. We scrambled downstairs, and met everybody. We then headed to dinner- a small place with absolutely delicious food. We ordered everything from tofu to shrimp to chicken, and it was all amazing. We talked and laughed, and overall had an amazing night.
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