The early morning start to our trip to the island of Miyajima didn't happen quite like we originally planned, but we were out of here around lunch time, and still had plenty of time to get there walk around the sights and shrines, hike to the top, and get back down before dark. We even stopped for some oysters at the bottom. One thing I found out: I don't like them as much as I do with a cracker, horseradish and hot sauce. Don't worry, I still kept them down. Miyajima held all sorts of festivals and demonstrations for the New Year, and though we didn't get to see them, the decorations and crowds still seemed to be in full effect. The shrine was another example of the very fascinating Japanese culture, and it gave a great view of the gate on the water and the city across the bay (Miyajimaguchi). The walk through the shrine spit us out right near the trail head to the top, and since the sun was already hiding our half of the mountain in shadows, we got a quick start on it. Maddie's a quick climber, by the way, and we got to the top without too much trouble, and had plenty of sunlight left to warm ourselves in the rays, snap some photos and hustle down the trail to get our oysters! I was hungry for some "real" food, but that came soon enough too.
The deer had their winter coats, and don't worry, we didn't catch any diseases from them.
5-story Pagoda. The stairs up to this were brutal, and almost scared us away from the hike... good thing we toughed it out. All we really needed was a warm up, I suppose.
Told you it was a gorgeous view. Cute girl too, if you ask me.
Trail head to Mt. Misen
The Japanese art of over-engineering trails and flood control.
Another self-take. About halfway up, and the view was much better than it looks here.
At the top. You can see Hiroshima at the left side of the view. Beautiful day for a hike, and the haze that was there in the summer was 100% gone.
On top of the woooooorld!!
At the eternal flame building. Remember the one at the Peace Park? Well the torch there was lit from the flame at the top of Mt. Misen. Maddie and I added our candle while we were there.
Oysters... not the best part of the trip, but at least my faces gave Maddie a laugh!
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