Miyajima

Itsukushima is an island off the coast of southern Honshu and more popularly known as Miyajima meaning sacred island. It is famous for its many shrines and one of the top three most beautiful views of Japan, the floating torii arch. The arch is said to date back to around the year 600 and the current arch is from the mid-16th century. The island is so sacred that they do not allow births or deaths there. It's also a UNESCO World Heritage site. We've been wanting to visit since we moved here. It's about a five hour drive north of Sasebo and with the tolls involved we knew we'd need to make a long weekend trip up there. We found the perfect chance when we decided it would be a great place to meet my parents and aunt who were coming south on the Shinkansen, or bullet train, from Kyoto. We spent a whole day on the island and it was fabulous!

There is a short 15 minute ferry ride to the island.

We were excited pulling up on the ferry that it was low tide and we could walk out to the arch. The "floating torii" only "floats" during high tide.

The boys had fun walking up and touching the torii. Tourists stick 100 yen pieces on the base. You can see some near the boys.

It was pretty crowded as everyone comes to the torii during low tide to get a closer look.

The streets of Miyajima are quaint and very crowded! They sold many special treats such as pastries shaped like maple leaves. We liked them.

The island has tons of sacred deer that just roam free. They are cute and tame.

We liked the sacred deer a lot until we got lunch on the go and the deer wanted in on it. Here grandma Shirley uses her umbrella to gently encourage the sacred deer to scram.

There were many shrines on the island. Behind Leo here is the main floating shrine. There's a couple mile loop that takes you through different streets on the island for shopping and eating. There was also a beautiful five story pagoda that I'm not quite sure how I left the island without photographing. 

We had a great day at Miyajima. It is definitely one of our favorite spots we have visited in our whole time here. We'll be back!