Miyajima Island
Listicles
7 Things to Love About Miyajima Island
Want a quiet place to escape from the bustling noise of the city? Located in Hiroshima Bay, a small and laid-back island known as Miyajima Island, is a great place that travellers shouldn’t miss.
Want a quiet place to escape from the bustling noise of the city? Located in Hiroshima Bay, a small and laid-back island known as Miyajima Island, is a great place that travellers shouldn’t miss.
Want a quiet place to escape from the bustling noise of the city? Located in Hiroshima Bay, a small and laid-back island known as Miyajima Island, is a great place that travellers shouldn’t miss. The following are the seven things to love about this island.
- The Great Torii Gate
Just near the offshore, it is easy to spot the Itsukushima Shrine, known as the floating shrine. This is also the site where travellers can find the Great Torii Gate in bright orange, which easily catches anyone’s attention. The Torii Gate itself marks the entrance to the Itsukushima Shrine built back in the 12th century. Hence, visitors should take this opportunity and take as many pictures and selfies. Although the Torii Gate is partially submerged at high tide, it will show itself clearly around 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. during low tide.
Torii Gate during low tide
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- Omotesando street
What better way to start your tour around the island than taking a stroll along Omotesando street leading to the Torii Gate. Walking here will give you a good taste of Hiroshima’s culture. The shops along the street are designed to look like those during the olden days, selling various handmade products that can only be found on the island. Feel free to stop by at each shop and be mesmerised.
There are plenty of choices of food here from a full course meal to desserts. Muslim travellers are advised to be careful because few of the restaurants here are not Muslim-friendly.
Omotesando Street. Photo: Kurayado Iroha Hotel Facebook Page
A trip to this island is not complete without visiting Mount Misen. It is the tallest mountain on the island and promises you a spellbinding scenery. There are hiking paths provided and each path takes around two hours to cover. You might also encounter a few animals such as monkeys or deer while hiking.
If you are not into hiking, fear not because there is a ropeway directly connecting you to the observation deck in 20 minutes. From the observation deck, you could observe breath-taking views of the island. Mount Misen is also known as the Virgin Forest because the forest has been assiduously preserved.
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Mount Misen. Photo: Michael Schmidmeister Photography Facebook Page
- Take pictures with the deer
Patting cats is a norm, but being approached by a deer is something else. These creatures are harmless and easy to photograph. It is common to see deer walking freely around the island as they are also being taken care off by the residents. Be calm so that you would not startle them. Visitors are advised to exercise caution as the deer can get a little aggressive when they see food.
Take pictures with the deer
Visitors with children could also visit the public aquarium as it can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Although it is not as big as the Kaiyukan aquarium, Miyajima Public Aquarium displays over 13,000 fish and marine mammals, all totalling 350 species. There is also sea lion performance, penguin-feeding, otter-feeding and more.
Besides, there is a section in the aquarium called “Rocky Shore of Friendship” where visitors are allowed to carefully touch the animals. Hiroshima is known for its oyster and you can bet that there are a lot of oysters here for visitors to admire and gain knowledge regarding them.
Miyajima Public Aquarium. Photo: Miyajima Public Aquarium Facebook Page
- Eat Momiji Manju
Miyajima island is known as one of the places where travellers can taste Momiji Manju, a sweet bean paste candy made fresh everyday on the island. Although manju is quite common in Japan, Momiji Manju is known best for its maple leaf shape.
Although it can be enjoyed in their original sweet bean paste form, there are other flavours as well such as chocolate, custard, green tea, strawberry and more. You could also bring the candy back as souvenir.
Momiji Manju. Photo: Japan Brand’s website
- Indulge in sweet potato ice cream
If you are into sweet potato and ice cream, you just hit the jackpot. Sweet potato ice cream is another sweet treat here and you can find it almost anywhere on the island. It is the perfect combination of ice cream and warm mashed sweet potato. There are three flavours that travellers can try such as purple sweet potato, orange sweet potato and the common sweet potato.
Sweet Potato Ice cream
Undoubtedly Miyajima Island is the place for travellers to enjoy strolling and taking their own sweet time. Not only does it provide exquisite delicacies, there are many activities that can be enjoyed here in one whole day too. Be sure to take pictures of the scenery because every corner of the island is miraculous.
Filed in: japan / Miyajima / Miyajima Island
