Japan: Miyajima – kakidon
Continuing the Japan posts – our next stop after Osaka was Hiroshima. From Hiroshima, we did a day trip to Miyajima.
Miyajima, offically named Itsukushima, is a small island that is most famous for its giant torii gate which appears to float on top of the ocean at high tide. I’m sure everyone has seen photos of it – it’s very recognisable.
Ticket for one, please.
Lots of wild deer roam around the island. However, the deer are very accustomed to people and, due to their tameness, have become very naughty. Their lack of fear, combined with their love of eating paper, means that they will often “attack” people for pamphlets, maps or bags.
We saw one deer eat a hole in someone’s paper bag, and another deer nibbling on a women’s sweater. I was quite amused to see it, but the deer smelt pretty bad and I wouldn’t have let one come that close to me!
We had a walk around the island, checking out the very famous torii gate, and Itsukushima shrine. This woman had brought her dog to the island to take pictures of it. She didn’t even bother with taking one with the gate in the background!
Both the gate and Itsukushima shrine are built over water, and the shrine consists of multiple buildings that are connected with each other by boardwalks above the sea. It was nice enough, but we were a bit “shrined out” by this stage after seeing numerous shrines already.
But one thing that we never get bored of is food! So after checking out the shrine, we had lunch at a small restaurant on the island. I had kakidon – oyster omelette on rice. The oysters, even though they would have been frozen ones at that time of year, were sweet, plump and juicy. Delicious!
Conor @ HoldtheBeef
December 17, 2009 @ 2:02 am
Isn't it terrible how quickly you get shrined out, or cathedralled out when you're travelling. I visited the Deutsches Museum in Munich earlier this year, and at first was reading all the blurbs and having a lovely time, but after three hours you could have shown me an exhibit of Elvis' body and the city of Atlantis and I wouldn't have cared.
Anyway, looks like a nice lunch and a great stop on the trip 🙂
Iron Chef Shellie
December 17, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
Gorgeous photos yet again. I love the one of the little girl 😛 so cute!
I can't wait to go to Japan one day.
missklicious
December 17, 2009 @ 1:24 pm
How cute are those deers! Hehe
And the oyster omelette looks so yummy.
Sarah
December 17, 2009 @ 4:44 pm
Waaa– oishisou!!
xox Sarah
Lisa
December 18, 2009 @ 4:13 am
I love the deer at the counter! (Even if he was smelly.)
Agnes
December 20, 2009 @ 12:13 am
Conor: Yes, it is terrible how quickly shrines/temples/cathedrals/old buildings go from WOW! to ohgosh, not another one.
Shellie: thanks! Make plans and go – I can't recommend it highly enough! 🙂
missklicious: the deer were VERY cute. So naughty though!
Sarah: Hai! 😀
Lisa: I love that deer at the counter! The guy sitting there just ignored the deer, maybe he's used to them wandering up to his window!
Katie
December 20, 2009 @ 5:14 pm
I can relate to getting "shrined out" after we visited Japan early this year. They're always beautiful to look at, but each one was less and less "WOW". We had to have a break from them, then go see more.
The deer remind me of monkeys in Thailand – they have become so tame and used to humans that they can be quite dangerous and annoying to tourists (especially the silly ones who feed them!)
Maria@TheGourmetChallenge
December 21, 2009 @ 9:40 am
I must admit, the dog is pretty cute, I may have taken a pic of the dog and ignored the gate too! 😛
Agnes
December 28, 2009 @ 10:17 pm
Katie: I don't think I can see another shrine or temple for a while! I wouldn't mind not seeing deer for a while either. 😉
Maria: it's a cute dog, isn't it! I want one, although I probably wouldn't drag it around places to take photos of it.