Miyajima

Out of all the places in Japan that I have been to so far, Miyajima has to be up there as one of my favourites. I know I probably say this about almost every place, but I really enjoy going to Miyajima because there is so much to see and do there. From feeding deer, to hiking up a mountain, to sight-seeing, to looking at shrines and temples – there are endless opportunities to experience the Japanese culture for what it is.

When we first arrived on the island, I was getting so excited about seeing all these cute deer, that I wanted to feed them. As soon as I got the deer food, they all came rushing towards me and I felt like they were about to bowl me over! I wanted to tell them that I wasn’t a bowling pin, but I don't think they would have understood me! I was getting a little scared by this stage because the deer started jumping up on me and getting really excited, so I quickly got rid of the food and got away from them as fast as I could!















Miyajima’s famous torii is probably one of the greatest spots to take pictures. Of course, our family decided to take a nice family shot in front of the beautiful, sacred torii.














For lunch, I ate my most favourite food in Miyajima: barbequed oysters. They are sooo delicious – especially when you squeeze lemon on them and they are so fresh and hot as they cook them on the BBQ and then put them straight on your plate. I loved every bite of those oysters. That was just entrée though. After that, I ate some more oysters in a restaurant nearby. This is a picture of Shinya (my Japanese friend) and I eating oysters in the restaurant. Note the absolute perfection of my chopstick skills! Two seconds later, I probably dropped the oyster into my drink, but that doesn’t have to be mentioned!!
















After lunch, Shinya, Mum, Dad and I decided to climb Mt Misen while Tina, Lauren and Steve did some sight-seeing elsewhere.


It was soooo hot that day and very humid so it made the hike even more difficult because we were sweating so much, but it didn’t detract from the beauty of it all. The hiking trail followed a waterfall stream all the way up the mountain. It was absolutely picturesque.


I loved climbing the mountain and seeing nature at its best – being amongst all the trees and natural surroundings. It was great! It was even better when we reached the top and got to see the look-out from the peak of the mountain.

In the evening, just before it was time to go, we took our last few photos of the torii at sunset. This is probably my most favourite picture taken that day of the torii at sunset.