Last weekend we stayed closer to home but had a great time.  On Saturday we took the train north

to Miyajima-guchi then the ferry

to Miyajima Island or Island of the Gods.  On the way across the Inland Sea we passed a lot of these bamboo oyster rafts.

Since we’d been to this island before (check out my blog for details of that trip) and seen the Itsukushima Shrine, one of the most scenic spots in Japan and the Grand Torii Gate

we took off in the opposite direction to explore another side of the island.  Our destination was to check out Tsutsumigaura Park and Campground.  This was a 40 minute walk along the sea.  Along the way we saw a smaller torii

and this row of lanterns just begging to be photographed.

Deer on Miyajima are called Nihonjika, “Japanese deer”, and are everywhere.

And here is one of the oyster rafts up on the beach for repairs.

Off in the distance we see our destination.

After an ice cold asahai we checked the map and decided instead of going back along the coast we would take the short cut straight across the island.

Turns out this involved about 2 hours of very steep hiking

and the trail gets smaller and smaller.

And look, there’s the park,

and over here are the oyster rafts.

 

Then it was down

down

down.

If you look really close in the picture above you can see the tramway going up Mt. Misen.  Then back into town and a lunch of fresh oysters to top off our trek.

It’s now four days later and my bags are packed and I’m ready to go…  Once again I’m headed back to Coronado.  So, until next time, sayonara!