Itsukushima (厳島) is an island in the western part of the Inland Sea of Japan, located in the northwest of Hiroshima Bay. It is popularly known as Miyajima (宮島), the Shrine Island. The island is one of Hayashi Razan’s (林羅山) Three Views of Japan (日本三景 Nihon Sankei). Itsukushima is part of the city of Hatsukaichi in Hiroshima Prefecture. The island was the town of Miyajima prior to the 2005 merger with Hatsukaichi.

Itsukushima is famous for the Itsukushima Shrine, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. According to records, the shrine was established in the time of Empress Suiko. The warrior-courtier Taira no Kiyomori gave the shrine its present form. In 1555, Mōri Motonari defeated Sue Harukata at the Battle of Miyajima. Toyotomi Hideyoshi built a large building, the Senjō-kaku, on a hill above the shrine.

The island of Itsukushima, including the waters around it (part of Seto Inland Sea), and are within Setonaikai National Park. This sea is affected by strong tides. At low tide, the bottom of the sea is exposed past the island’s Torii. At high tide, the sea covers all the previously-exposed mud and fills areas underneath the Shrine.

Itsukushima is mountainous and sparsely settled. It does have an elementary school and a middle school. There are no traffic signals.

Frequent ferry services, operated by JR West (JR Miyajima ferry) and by Miyajima Matsudai Tourist Ship, carry traffic between the island and the mainland. The trip takes about ten minutes. There is an hourly express passenger ferry to Hiroshima harbour.

Miyajima’s maple trees are renowned throughout Japan, and blanket the island in crimson in the autumn. Momiji manju, pastries filled with azuki jam or custard, are popular souvenirs, and carry maple-leaf emblems. Many other varieties such as chocolate and cheese are also available. Because the island is seen as sacred, trees may not be cut for lumber. Deer and monkeys roam freely. Deer are thought of as sacred in the native Shinto religion because they are considered messengers of the gods.

A style of wooden spoon used to serve cooked rice, without impairing the taste, is said to have been invented by a monk who lived on the island. This style of spoon is a popular souvenir and there are some outsized examples around the shopping district.

The peak of Mount Misen, at 535 m, is the highest point on the island. Miyajima Ropeway carries visitors to within a 30-minute hike to the top. There are several sites related to the historical Buddhist priest and founder of Shingon Buddhism, Kōbō Daishi (弘法大師^?) (774–835), near the top. The island also contains the Miyajima Natural Botanical Garden (宮島自然植物実験所 Miyajima Shizen Shokubutsu Jikkensho^?) on its north coast.

There are many shrines and temples on the island. It is rural and mountainous, only 12 sq. miles, and has a population of about 2000. There are no cities, only small towns with simple houses and privately-owned shops. The islanders work hard to preserve the forests and respect nature. People often take the ten-minute ferry ride from mainland Japan to pray at Miyajima’s shrines and to marvel at the beauty of its forests.

text source: wikipedia

This video entered the Show me Japan weekly event on Budgettrouble.com! check out the other entries here

J∙Festa is a blogging festival showcasing the best of Japan. Here you will find a regular round-up of inspiring articles, thought-provoking stories and arousing images prompted by the announcement of a Japan-related theme. Best of all, everyone is invited to participate!

Participating in a blog carnival is a good way to get your blog noticed by others. Submitting articles also helps to improve your link popularity by building backlinks as well as sending direct traffic to your site.

This is my entry for the July 2011 Blog Carnival!

Hikawa Maru (氷川丸) is a Japanese ocean liner that was built for the Nippon Yusen KK line by the Yokohama Dock Company. She was launched on 30 September 1929, and made her maiden voyage from Kobe to Seattle on 13 May 1930. She is one of three sister ships, all named after important Shinto shrines, Hikawa Shrine being located in Saitama. The other two, both lost in the war, were Heian Maru and Hie Maru.

The service provided on the ship was famous for combining splendid food and beautiful art deco interiors. She was often referred to as the Queen of the Pacific. Charlie Chaplin and Kano Jigoro (founder of Judo) are amongst the ship’s more notable former passengers.

In 1941, before Japan’s entry to the World War II the Hikawa Maru was used by Jewish refugees escaping the Nazis via Japan. Reuben Goossens reports Zorach Warhaftig’s experience about the ship. Zorach together with his family left from Yokohama on the Hikawa Maru on 5 June 1941 for Vancouver, Canada. He describes the trip as “a summer vacation and with the war seeming to be so far away” although, he said “I didn’t have a peaceful mind because of the strong responsibility I had to help the Jewish refugees with the troubles they faced.”

After Japan’s entry to the war Hikawa Maru became a hospital ship, and as a result, she ultimately survived the Allied campaign against the Japanese merchant fleet. After the end of the war she was used by the U.S. for troop repatriation until 1947. Afterwards the Hikawa Maru was returned to Japan and carried cargo between Japan and the US.

In 1954 she was taken out of service, but following a refit she returned to carrying passengers across the Pacific. Falling passenger numbers due to the growth of air travel led to the eventual termination of the service in 1960.

In 1961 Hikawa Maru became a floating youth hostel and museum permanently berthed at Yokohama.

In December 2006 the Hikawa Maru museum was closed and doubts about her future were raised. Happily, NYK Line began the restoration of the Hikawa Maru in August 2007, and the ship was reopened to the public on 25 April 2008, the vessel’s 78th birthday.

source: wikipedia

Everybody come to watch the Hikawa Maru, even little rabbit

 

How to go there?

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People waiting for a hanabi in Odaiba.. looking the Tokyo bay

The MOST BEAUTIFUL sunset I ve seen in my life.

In Katase-Enoshima beach on sunday.. It was fantastic.. Looks like I was in another world for an hour, watching the sun going down behind Mount Fuji.. looking the surfers in the Pacific Ocean, and the bird going back home or something..

I went to Katase-Enoshima beach on sunday with friends.. it was a very nice day..

Had a lot of fun doing body surf.. and saw the most beautiful sunset I ve seen in my life.. I will make another post with the sunset..

Here is a little video in the Sea.. and picture of the place by day.. not many pics like you can see haha.. major part of the pics are “private” one ^^ but in the next post you will see a lot of pics from the sunset!

Enjoy the Mini Japan serie from ” we live in a small world” hope you will enjoy this little movie.

Show me Japan Vol 1 issue 5:

As we approach the week­end, that means issue 5 of “Show Me Japan”, the new photo event by budgettrouble.com where peo­ple from all over Japan sub­mit pics show­ing off what­ever cor­ner of the coun­try they are in. This post  is my entry for this week (dec 17-19  2010) — go check out some of the other ones.

Here is the photos I used to make it

Odawara is a nice little city in the old Tokaido road connecting Edo ( modern Tokyo) to Kyoto..
Just before Hakone, a well known place to watch Fuji-san, you can go to Odawara from Tokyo in only 1h-1h30..

here is a little walk in the city the day before the hojo godai matsuri 2010

We had a very nice weather for the 2 days in Odawara and it was great walking on the street.

You can see a previous video made in Odawara in 2009 here : http://lifeyou.tv/odawara-photo-walk/

Walk in Yokohama.. enjoy the park, the bay, people, ice skating,..

A selection of some picture of Enoshima I took. Enoshima is a lovely place to visit.. not far from kamakura, it is a good idea to take a look on this “island” if you have the possibility to do it…..

view of the tokyo bay from the yurikamome line ( mono rail)