My day in Miyajima was incredible and I wanted to see as much of the island as possible during my short visit. Sadly, I hadn’t realised such a small area would turn into my favourite area of Japan and didn’t leave myself enough time to do everything. However, I think if the ropeway was working my itinerary would have been much more manageable, but hiking Mount Misen was something I really didn’t want to miss out on.
The hike has several different routes with varying levels of difficulty and distance. I chose the shortest route going up and a longer hike down so I could visit Daishon Temple. The momijidani course begins at the Momiji bridge which is up a small road which leads away from the floating torii gate. The park itself is beautifully green and Japanese with a pond filled with beautiful koi carp. I was initially going to head straight to the hike starting point but the park is well worth exploring. There are lots of deer in the area, as well as monkeys and wild boar, but sadly I didn’t spot either on my hike. Very few humans were heading up to the starting point of the hike, I think they were put off because the ropeway wasn’t working. July is rainy season in Japan but I was very lucky to visit the island on a dry but overcast day, I won’t lie the humidity made it feel like I was in the sauna.
My hike started by following a series of waterfalls up a hill, they were cascading down the hill and there were lots of small cranes running around in the water. The greenery in Japan is unmatched and I just love how some of the acer trees are red all year round. I can imagine Miyajima is stunningly beautiful in the autumn months. Momijidani to the peak of Mount Misen is only 2.5 kilometres, but here comes the but, it is all up hill. I mean one continuous, staircase like hill and my furry blue legs still haven’t recovered nor do I ever think they will. I like a challenge as much as the next dinosaur does but this adventure really pushed me to go beyond my limits.
1.8 kilometres of hills took me to the top of the first steep hill (it is also where the ropeway ends). I had another 0.7 kilometres to go before I reached the top. This was the most exciting part of my hike because I literally walked into the clouds. I’ve never been close enough to walk through a cloud before but I always thought they would feel more like candyfloss. Instead I got absolutely soaked, the raindrops were attached to the spiders webs and leaves like diamonds. My photographer was more than happy to not spot a single spider on our hike, I mean with webs that size, how big are the spiders.
The final part of the hike was very cloudy and I could barely see a hand in front of me but the path is very well trodden so I didn’t get lost. A beautiful small temple became clear as I walked through the final few trees and to my surprise two Buddhist monks were chanting in the fog. The moment was emotional and quiet making me realise that the smallest moments are often the best. Low hanging clouds made Misenhondo temple seem even more ethereal and I was not even sad that I couldn’t see the place fully. After buying a couple of charms at the temple, I headed up to Mount Misen observatory which was only a 15 minute walk from the temple.
The rock formations are incredible, I’m not sure if they are naturally occurring or manmade but I had a lot of fun exploring. My two favourites were the staircase through a stone (very exciting to go through but not if you are tall) and the heart shaped rock. My photographer and I sat on a huge rock overlooking the clouds for a while, it felt like we were the only human and dinosaur left on the planet.
I decided to take an alternate route for my descent because although it was longer, I had been told the hills were a little less intense (they were worse than going up the mountain). The beginning was just going through the forest, which is primeval and completely wild. Though once I had walked about a kilometre and passed through the temple gate, the scenery began to change once again. I had once again found a river, the Shiraitono falls, which were flowing down hill very quickly. At one point I had to cross the river using steppy stones, I thought this was great fun but my photographer did not because they unfortunately became a mosquito snack.
Halfway down the never ending hill was Azuyama observation deck, the first point where I could see the views across the bay of Hiroshima and enjoy them fully. I spotted a huge oyster farm, some other islands and could even see the Torii gate on the beach. Though my break was cut short because a huge Asian hornet appeared and I decided to leave it in peace. I instead walked a bit further and made a brief stop at Takimiya shrine to enjoy more beautiful views. I spotted Daishoin temple complex on the other side of the river and realised my hike was nearly finished. The hike from this point would have only taken 15 minutes to reach the temple but my photographer spotted some sika deer with babies in the forest and we may have gotten a tiny bit distracted. Leaving Bambi and the bigger deer to play in the woods, I finally headed to the most beautiful temple complex in Japan (in my opinion).
Daishoin Temple complex has been on the same site since 806 and it has some really gorgeous temples and hidden spaces to enjoy. The best part is, it is completely free (happy dance). Sadly, the complex has a few flights of stairs to reach the areas at the back but by this point I was riding in the backpack of doom so I wasn’t too bothered. Incense and songs of wind chimes were floating through the paths, so I chose to let my self get lost.
Small statues line the paths and walls, with small surprises being hidden everywhere. For some reason I only went inside one of the many temple buildings and I really don’t really know why. My photographer’s (smelly) shoes had to wait outside whilst I enjoyed wandering around the many pieces of artwork in the temple. I enjoyed seeing the feet image but I don’t understand the symbolic meaning. The koi painting on the Japanese screens was also extremely beautiful. At the back was a huge gold buddha statue which didn’t stand out in the room and I nearly walked past without noticing.
I decided it was time for a well earned coffee after a hard hike in the humidity so I headed back into the town through some streets filled with beautiful Japanese houses. Part 1 of my Miyajima Island blog can be found here.
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