Article Miyajima Island

The island runs a ferry every 1/4 hour from the port, which can be reached by train to Miyajimaguchi Station. The advantage is that if you have bought a Rail pass (I highly recommend it), it also applies to this ferry. The journey takes about 10 minutes and upon arrival to the island offers a view of the dominant feature of the whole island, the orange gate of Otoria.

There are around 2,000 sika deer roaming freely on the island, which are so domesticated that they can be petted and posed to photographers as professional models. It is forbidden to feed them on the island, but not many people observe it. The deer are, after all, quite ragged enough to get any goodness themselves, in the form of a stolen snack, a plastic bag or a map sticking out of their pocket.

We also stroked them at first, but when I saw that one adult deer scratched behind his ear and suddenly the ribs moved in his fur all over his body, I preferred to stay with the photo shoot.

Japan's most famous floating gate, the Otaria Gate, can be explored at low tide. There was still a tide on our arrival on the island, so we could even swim across the gate. In a few hours, however, she could be reached by dry feet.

There are several sacred temples on the island. The main and most famous Itsukushima (listed in UNESCO monuments) is right on the sea shore behind the floating gate of Otoria. Visitors have the opportunity to admire several historic temples and buildings on the island, such as this wooden Shinkoji temple