Miyajima Island

Separated from the mainland by 500 metres of Onoseto Straight, Miyyajima Island is a Unesco World Heritage Site and one of Japan’s most visited tourist destinations. Our ferry took us past the O torii, but it was frustratingly obscured by mist and we got no indication of it’s size. Later we viewed it from the pier-like Itsukushima-jinja shrine and joined the hundreds of other tourists in a Kodak moment. Our local Ikegami guides were able to direct us to their favourite Japanese curry house where we ate and relaxed as the tide receded to the point where we were able to walk out over the sand and stand under the latest version of the gate that has stood there for over a thousand years.

The island quietened down as the day wore on, and we wandered through the back streets in relative peace. A short visit to a local guest house where the Ikegamis were known, delivered a welcome seat and cups of tea before we headed back to the ferry via an impressive Buddhist temple. For dinner, it had to be Hiroshima Okonomiyaki and a small but busy restaurant was selected. There was an awkward “Sean Connery?” moment from the chef, but he delivered our best Okonomiyaki so far and it was an easy mistake to make. Just saying…