Visiting Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island

While reading about Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island in the Man Made Wonders book, I fretted that it would be difficult to visit the shriine. Turns out it was super easy to get to the island. After lunch, we took a 20-minute subway ride to the ferry terminal, then took a 20-minute ferry ride to Miyajima Island.

We timed our visit to coincide with high tide because the O-Torii Gate (Grand Gate) is apparently much prettier when it's floating in the water. A torii is a traditional Japanese gate typically found at the entrance of a Shinto shrine. The O-Torii gate at the entrance of Miyajima Jinja (shrine) is famous because it's in the water and so darn beautiful! The gate has apparently been rebuilt over the years but the current gate dates back to 1875 and stands 16 meters high.

There are 2 ferries you can take to get to Miyajima. The JR ferry gets you closer to the gate so it's by far more popular. It's a really pretty ferry ride to Miyajima. You get a sense of Japan's island nature and mountainous terrain.

Here's the ferry terminal.

 

Here's a view from the ferry as we left the mainland.

Alex, Christine and CJ enjoying the ride.

 CJ is just like me, he loves the water!

 

O-Torii Gate at a distance, from the ferry

 Just like at Nara Park, there were deer everywhere, but these deer didn't seem quite as friendly and they weren't nearly as fat and happy.

 Walking along the seawall toward Itsukushima Jinja.

 

Here's our group walking toward the shrine, right in front of another big gate.

 

While we were there, there was some type of dance performance going on.

 Rare photo of mommy with her boys.

 The whole family in front of the O-Torii Gate. It was such a beautiful day!

I can't believe I snapped this photo of the gate! 

At the top of the hill, there's an unfinished temple that is used by monks to pray for the war dead.

Great photo of MJ and Maki from the temple with a ginko tree in the background.

Despite its unfinished status, the temple was beautiful. It didn't seem unfinished to us!

 Next to the temple was a large pagoda.

Many of Maki's family members were jealous that we got to see Itsukushima Jinja. I think Miyajima is one of those famous places that most Japanese are familiar with but most never visit. There were certainly enough people visiting during our trip. Maki's mom says November is the best time to visit this party of Japan because of the cool temperatures and the changing of the colors.

Turns out it wasn't hard to get here and it was absolutely worth the trip!

Yummy Lunch in at the JR Station in Hiroshima

After visiting the Peace Park, we were ready for lunch. We caught the bus back to the JR station and decided to explore other food options right at the station. We lucked out and discovered the Panoramic Food Court which featured lots of food stalls and gorgeous panoramic views of Hiroshima!

 Here's a view from one of the windows at the food court. It was stunning!

 Here's the food vendor I got CJ's chirashi sushi from.

 Yup, there was a McDonald's, but we stayed away. I had ramen with roast pork!

Here's a photo of my ramen with roast pork lunch!

Here's a photo of CJ's chirashi sushi bowl with salmon and tuna

 Here's the group eating lunch. MJ is enjoying some mochi with Uncle Alex for dessert.

 

 CJ's chopstick skills leveled up during this trip!

 

On the ground floor of the station, there was this really pretty display of souvenirs and different kinds of mochi for sale.

Visiting the Peace Park in Hiroshima

On Wednesday, November 21, we woke up to a beautiful day. While I got dressed, Maki and the boys had breakfast with Alex and Christine at Cafe Danmark, a coffee and danish place at the JR station. After breakfast, we all met up with Maki's parents and boarded the streetcar to visit the Peace Park in Hiroshima. The Peace Park is a beautiful and moving memorial to the 200,000 people who died when the US dropped an atomic bomb over the city, to the tens of thousands more who suffered from various illness, and to the idea of the world hopefully never witnessing the use of another atomic bomb again.

 

Here's a view of the a-bomb dome, which became famous because the structure and dome remained relatively intact during the explosion.  Turns out the bomb was dropped almost directly above the Hiroshima Prefecture Hall, which somehow saved the building from total incineration.

Here's Maki and his dad in front of the a-bomb dome.

 From the dome, we crossed a little river on foot to get to the Peace Park.

 

 Here's a cute photo of CJ goofing off

 

Here's a view of the reflecting pool in the peace park.

Visitors are encouraged to donate origami cranes, which are a sign of peace. Local artists then create sculptures from the cranes. This artwork is made entirely of paper cranes!

Another sculpture/monument at the peace park.

There was a small plaza with this sculpture in the middle and origami sculptures (I think they change all the time) encased on the glass booths.

The peace park was definitely worth the visit.

Checking in at the Hotel Granvia + First Meal in Hiroshima

We got to Hiroshima in the late afternoon so we checked into our hotel, the Hotel Granvia. Maki and I found this hotel through the American Express website and chose it because it was close to the JR station. Turns out this hotel is connected to the JR station, which turned out to be super convenient. The hotel was also quite nice, with a beautiful lobby and decent-sized rooms. Maki, CJ, MJ and I still had to take 2 rooms but they were pretty, clean and non-smoking.

 The Granvia had a pretty lobby that was decorated for the holidays.

Fodors.com recommended the restaurants and food court at Hiroshima station so we went wandering. We had plenty of options, including a food court on the ground floor and several floors of restaurants. We chose an okonomiyaki place where we watched the cook make our food while we sat on bar stools.  Okonomiyaki, or Japanese pancake, is sort of a cross between a pancake and a frittata. You pour an egg batter on a griddle, then you add vegetables, meat and sauce. It's quite yummy!