Winter solitude –
in a world of one color
the sound of wind.
Perched upon the blustery deck of the passenger ferry to Miyajima, I looked out over the Seto Inland Sea and everything seemed to be a silvery grey. Pockets of clouds drifted down to meet the ocean, and Mount Misen – the sacred mountain that guards over the island – stood proud, silhouetted in black.
The glistening, monotone waters of the Seto Inland Sea.
The ferry to Miyajima. Looking down the stairs, I couldn’t decide if I was looking at a Hiroshi Sugimoto seascape, or a a scene from a Wes Anderson movie.
As soon as we arrived, we started to make friends…
Dear, deer friends.
Miyajima is home to more than a thousand Sika deer. These guys are free to roam the island and have no qualms about just walking into the local shops.
They are extremely tame, and the owner didn’t seem to bat an eyelid.
Walking around, we built up an appetite for some snacks. The deep-fried sponge cake was good, while the fish/onion one was just a bit weird. I thought I would have really liked it as it looked a bit like a croquette, but it had a weird rubbery consistency. People were lining up for these things though. Each to their own!
Eating Miyajima Jake – deep-fried sponge cake.
Peaceful scenes overlooking Itsukushima Shrine
A World Heritage Site, Japan has gone to great lengths to preserve the twelfth-century-style architecture of the Shrine throughout history.
Wandering around the backstreets of the island revealed lots of beautiful views
And more walking meant more snacks, naturally.
These oysters were grilled right in front of us.
A cute, glowing lantern outside a restaurant…
And a cute flower display hanging outside a house. I loved that despite the island being a tourist attraction, there was still a sense of community. People live here, and it was nice to see many little lanes and alleyways filled with houses.
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Great post 🙂
Thank you for your colourful description of your visit to Miyajima. I am going to tell my fellow students on a Cambridge University online blogging course about your blog. Hopefully some of them will check it out.
Thank you so much!
A very beautiful island. Those oysters are huge!