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WHAT TO SEE IN MIYAJIMA
The Torii of Miyajima
The Torii of Miyajima
ITSUKUSHIMA SHRINE AND THE TORII
Itsukushima Shrine was built in 1168 by Taira no Kiyomori, the most powerful lord of Japan at that time, as a sanctuary for his clan and family. You should know that the entire island is considered sacred. For this reason, in order to maintain its purity, access was forbidden for centuries. However, to encourage the arrival of pilgrims, it was decided to build a sacred complex that would be suspended over the water, and therefore not directly on the island's mainland, all through pillars and walkways. The entrance gate to the shrine, or torii, was also built on the water for the same reason. The torii, 16 meters high, has now become the symbol of Miyajima Island. I recommend arriving in the morning at low tide so you can walk and get right under the torii to admire its majesty. In the late afternoon, however, with high tide, you can see the torii floating on the water at sunset.
MOUNT MISEN
Mount Misen is the highest on the island and reaches a peak of 500 meters above sea level.
Reach the summit with the Miyajima Ropeway cable car which, however, will not take you right to the top but to about 400 m in height and 1 km of trail from the summit. From the top of Mount Misen you can enjoy a spectacular view of the sea and, on clear days, of the city of Hiroshima and its archipelago of islands. Mount Misen, like the whole island, has over the centuries been a place of religious meditation for many monks. In fact, along the route, between the cable car arrival and the summit, there are various Buddhist religious buildings.
SENJOKAKU OR HOKOKU SHRINE
This building, dedicated to the reading of sutras, was built in 1587 by order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, but the work was interrupted at his death in 1598, leaving the facade unfinished. It is the largest building on the island, with an area of 857 tatami mats (literally Senjokaku means "pavilion of a thousand tatami mats").
Next to it is the 5-story pagoda.
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