山登り

With nuclear holocaust still fresh in mind I needed some relaxation and decided to go on a day trip to the nearby island Miyajima (宮島) famous for it's O-torii, which is a big wooden gate standing in the water. It is officially the third most beautiful view in Japan. I took a boat to the island and after visiting a few temples and the O-torii I was ready to take on the mountain. There was a ropeway to the top but on the way to the station I wandered a bit of the trail and suddenly I was on my way on foot. It was only a 2,5 km walk to the top so I thought that I might as well walk the rest of the way. Besides, the sun was shining, the mountain forest was beautiful and I was super-genki. The path was very narrow and full of twists and turns and most of the time the forest closed around the path and it felt like walking in a completely different world. Tired from walking for 2 hours I reached the top. The view from there was simply breathtaking. The ocean, surrounding the island, lay there quiet and in the distance I could see Hiroshima city. At the top there was a rest station where you could buy food for the “wild” deer and I even saw a Tanuki (狸) a raccoon like animal. Inspired by the beautiful ascend I decided to skip the ropeway entirely and walk down on foot as well – then I could also brag that I had climbed a mountain all by myself.


One big O-torii
When I finally reached the bottom I was TIRED: My feet were killing me and I was sweating from the trip. But not 100 meters from the bottom I walked past a sign saying お風呂. I had found a bath. One of the island hotels offered baths for tourists and for 600 yen I could wash off all the dust and dirt and relax all alone in a huge bathroom with room for 20. I also tried the local speciality eel and tasted the most delicious fried oysters before I took the train home to Hiroshima.